The President’s Budget Proposals Will Lead the Federal Debt to Approach 200 Percent of GDP Over the Next 70 Years

SOURCE: Office of Management and Budget, The Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013, Analytical Perspectives
The President’s budget stabilizes the debt only in the short-term. If all of the proposals in the budget were adopted, government debt would still soar to unsustainable levels in the long run, even under the optimistic assumptions used in the administration’s long-run projections. Under less optimistic assumptions, debt would grow even faster. The President’s long-run budget projections assume that discretionary spending remains well below its 30-year historical average and that the growth of health care spending will slow significantly.
Download OMB’s Long-Term Budget Outlook
Download OMB’s Long-Term Budget Projections
Click here to read Michael Peterson’s statement on President Obama’s Budget.
Click here to read Michael Peterson’s op-ed in Politico.
Further Reading
Budget Basics: Tax Expenditures
Tax expenditures can come in the form of exclusions, exemptions, deductions, and credits.
What Are the Economic Costs of Child Poverty?
Child poverty is higher in the United States than in other wealthy countries. Studies show that it has quantifiable economic costs.
Budget Basics: Unemployment Insurance Explained
The Unemployment Insurance program is a key counter-cyclical tool to help stabilize the economy and speed recovery during downturns or crises.