On March 18, the Congressional Budget Office published its estimate of the president’s 2012 budget. That same day, Office of Management and Budget director Jack Lew commented on the CBO analysis.
Also on March 18, the U.S. Government Accountability Office posted new long-term budget projections. It estimates that the national debt will exceed 100 percent of GDP by 2021.
A March 16 Pew poll found sharply declining support for Republicans on budget issues. It also found strong opposition to cutting Social Security and Medicare, which Republicans have promised to do.
A March 15 ABC News/Washington Post poll found that only 31 percent of voters support the Republican policy of only cutting spending to reduce the deficit; 64 percent believe higher taxes will also be necessary.
That same poll found that if there is a government shutdown, people will blame Republicans over Obama by a 45 percent to 31 percent margin.
Also on March 15, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget published a study on how different fiscal choices will affect different generations. It concludes that putting off the pain of adjustment will only make the pain worse.
And on March 15, the Senate Budget Committee held a hearing on the Bipartisan Policy Center’s debt reduction report.
On March 15, Senators Michael Bennett (D-CO), Mike Johanns (R-NE) and 62 other senators sent a letter to President Obama asking him to put forward a comprehensive deficit reduction proposal. There was no explanation for why they can’t do so themselves.
And on March 15, the Republican members of the Joint Economic Committee released a study which found that fiscal consolidation raises economic growth. In a March 21 commentary, Chad Stone of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities took issue with the Republican study.
A March 9 Ipsos/Reuters poll found strong opposition to cutting Social Security or Medicare to balance the budget.
On March 3, the Congressional Research Service published a summary of the congressional budget process.
I last posted items on this topic on March 11.
Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and columnist who focuses on the intersection between politics and economics. He blogs daily and writes a weekly column at The Fiscal Times. Bartlett has written for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate, and his work is informed by many years in government, including as a senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House. He is the author of seven books including the New York Times best-seller, Imposter: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006).
