Obama deficit speech reveals his core beliefs
By Fareed Zakaria,
WashPost
Wednesday, April 13, 8:07 PM
President Obama made one of the most important speeches of his presidency on Wednesday. It was an eloquent defense of his basic approach to government and outlined specifically how he would tackle the nation’s long-term debt problems. For people who have been searching for Barack Obama’s core beliefs, this speech is perhaps the single best place to start — though it fell short in one important aspect.
Obama revealed himself to be a left-of-center Democrat, but not very far left. To begin with, he accepts the proposition that the deficit is America’s biggest challenge; proposed a set of measures that would reduce the deficit, with large spending cuts in all programs and — crucially — proposed a fail-safe so that if the deficit targets are not met, Congress would immediately cut spending further or raise more taxes.
This last feature may be the most important specific proposal in Obama’s plan, and a sign of its credibility, because it addresses the glaring flaw in almost every budget proposal: magical assumptions about economic growth, tax revenue, efficiencies and cost reductions. On paper, of course, these assumptions show the deficit falling drastically. A fail-safe ensures that if the assumptions don’t work out — which is highly likely — and the deficit expands, Congress is forced to act.
Obama presented a vision of an activist government that will make crucial investments in education, infrastructure and research. These investments have been as much a part of American history, he noted, as a vibrant market economy. Without such government support, there would be no American semiconductor industry, no early adoption of computers, no Internet, no global-positioning system.
(More here.)
WashPost
Wednesday, April 13, 8:07 PM
President Obama made one of the most important speeches of his presidency on Wednesday. It was an eloquent defense of his basic approach to government and outlined specifically how he would tackle the nation’s long-term debt problems. For people who have been searching for Barack Obama’s core beliefs, this speech is perhaps the single best place to start — though it fell short in one important aspect.
Obama revealed himself to be a left-of-center Democrat, but not very far left. To begin with, he accepts the proposition that the deficit is America’s biggest challenge; proposed a set of measures that would reduce the deficit, with large spending cuts in all programs and — crucially — proposed a fail-safe so that if the deficit targets are not met, Congress would immediately cut spending further or raise more taxes.
This last feature may be the most important specific proposal in Obama’s plan, and a sign of its credibility, because it addresses the glaring flaw in almost every budget proposal: magical assumptions about economic growth, tax revenue, efficiencies and cost reductions. On paper, of course, these assumptions show the deficit falling drastically. A fail-safe ensures that if the assumptions don’t work out — which is highly likely — and the deficit expands, Congress is forced to act.
Obama presented a vision of an activist government that will make crucial investments in education, infrastructure and research. These investments have been as much a part of American history, he noted, as a vibrant market economy. Without such government support, there would be no American semiconductor industry, no early adoption of computers, no Internet, no global-positioning system.
(More here.)
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