03.13.13

Senate Democrats’ Tax-And-Spend Plan Grows The Government—Not The Economy

After Four Years, Senate Democrats Stunningly Fail To Identify Reforms, Enriching The Bureaucracy At Workers’ Expense

A Budget That Never Balances—Ever
Senate Democrats had four years to come up with a plan to balance the budget and grow the economy. Four years to develop a proposal to make government less wasteful and more productive, and to reform failing government programs that have trapped millions in poverty and joblessness. But after four years and $6 trillion in debt since a budget was last passed, their vague proposal leaves America with a budget that never balances and a government that never stops growing. 

$7.3 Trillion In New Debt
The Senate Democrat plan offers $7.3 trillion in new debt in the first 10 years, with interest payments climbing to $791 billion in the tenth year and total debt rising to $24.4 trillion. Debt remains permanently elevated above the danger zone of 90 percent of GDP, resulting in slower growth and lost wages. Excluding war spending gimmicks, net deficit reduction is only $279 billion. In the Senate Democrat plan, the deficit in 2023 is $566 billion; the House Republican plan, in contrast, produces a surplus in the tenth year. 

$1.5 Trillion In New Taxes
Chairman Murray and Senate Democrats have proposed a $1.5 trillion tax hike on the American people in order to subsidize wasteful spending and shield failing government programs—in the process sabotaging the principles of bipartisan tax reform that lowers rates and creates growth. This consists of the $923 billion advertised in their tables, plus $480 billion to eliminate the sequester, and $100 billion to offset stimulus in 2013.

Net Spending Increase Of $645 Billion Above Projected Growth
Today’s budget is $3.6 trillion. Democrats propose raising that to $5.7 trillion by 2023—an increase of 62 percent. (As a reference point, the budget in 2007 was $2.7 trillion). Relative to CBO’s current-law baseline (minus phony war savings and inflated disaster spending), the Democrat budget increases spending $645 billion above projected spending levels.

Four Years Of Waiting And No Reforms
Amazingly, after four years, the Democrats were unable to identify any real reforms—no tax reform and no entitlement reform. The budget also contains no welfare reform, resulting in a roughly 80 percent increase in means-tested support and poverty programs, growing the government instead of the economy. The Democrat plan reveals its supporters’ apparent belief that our massive federal government—whose budget has increased 30 percent since 2007—is essentially perfect and, instead of reforms, simply needs ever-more taxpayer dollars.

Enriching The Bureaucracy At The Expense Of The People
The Democrat budget protects the stale federal bureaucracy while presenting millions of Americans with a future of poverty, dependency, and joblessness. Instead of empowering the individual spirit of human freedom, the majority plan empowers the bureaucracy. Instead of creating good-paying jobs for those who want them, the majority plan destroys those jobs and hires more people to staff the local welfare office. Republicans will fight for a more optimistic future—a future of strong families and thriving communities in which our society, and not our bureaucracy, is the center of American life.

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