Thursday, March 14, 2013

Senate Democrat budget plan has $400-600 billion deficits!

Reuters ^ | 3/13/13 | David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Annual deficits under a new plan from Senate Democrats would be in the $400-600 billion range for much of the next decade, a level they say would allow stronger near-term job growth than Republicans' balanced-budget vision.
Full details of the plan released by Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray on Wednesday showed that deficits would average 2.4 percent of U.S. economic output through 2023, a rate many economists view as sustainable.
Deficits have exceeded $1 trillion during each of the past four years due largely to economic damage from the recent financial crisis. Under the assumptions used in Murray's budget, the fiscal 2013 deficit is forecast at $891 billion, or 5.6 percent of gross domestic product.
The Democratic plan would add $5.2 trillion to public debt over the decade, pushing it above $18 trillion in 2023. As a share of a growing economy, however, the debt would decline gradually to 70.4 percent from 76.6 percent now.
The plan, given to Budget Committee members only after the panel opened debate on it, aims to shrink deficits by $1.85 billion over 10 years - including the replacement of about $960 billion in automatic spending cuts known as the sequester.
It adds $100 billion in new spending to rebuild roads, bridges, schools and workers' job skills and prescribes $975 billion in spending cuts and $975 billion in new revenues from the elimination of tax deductions and loopholes that benefit the wealthy.
"The highest priority of our budget is to create the conditions for job creation, economic growth, and prosperity built from the middle out, not the top down," Murray told the committee.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...

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