An alternative view to budget deficit

Republicans and some Democrats are saying that scary new deficit figures today argue for dialing back President Obama's ambitious budget plans for healthcare, alternative energy, and education and more.

But his most liberal allies are asserting the opposite, saying they show the need for the sweeping change that Obama's $3.6 trillion blueprint represents.

"The best way to reduce the deficit is to grow our economy; the best way to grow our economy is to act on the priorities in the president's budget," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. "President Obama's budget will transform our economy and create jobs by cutting taxes for 95 percent of Americans, making healthcare more affordable and accessible, creating a new, clean energy economy, and modernizing our schools to prepare our workforce for global competition.

"Over the next two weeks, I expect the House Budget Committee to produce, and the entire House will approve, a budget resolution that reflects the President's priorities and will help usher in a new era of job creation and lasting prosperity for the American people."

The Congressional Budget Office projected today that Obama's budget would produce federal deficits totaling $9.3 trillion between 2010 and 2019, $2.3 trillion more than the administration predicted last month. The CBO says the deficit under Obama's policies would never go below 4 percent of the size of the economy, a level that most economists say is dangerously high.

But USAAction, an advocacy group pushing Obama's budget, said the way to dig out from all the red ink is to make the costly investments.

“This revised report delivers a stark message that the economy is in even worse shape than previously thought," Program Director Alan Charney said in a statement. "It reinforces why it's even more critical to pass the initiatives on healthcare, education and the economy laid out the President's budget. The solutions must be adequate to match the depth of the problems. If we don't deal with the major underlying problems with the economy and make it possible for job creation, our deficits will continue to skyrocket."

"We cannot achieve sustainable economic growth without fixing our broken healthcare system, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and investing in an educated workforce for tomorrow," he added. "The President's budget accomplishes these objectives and we cannot let the naysayers keep sending this country down the wrong direction.”

Tom McMahon, acting executive director of Americans United for Change, which is advocating Obama's budget with nearly 100 labor, environmental, and progressive organizations, agreed:

“The sobering new deficit projections deliver a stark message that the economy is in even worse shape than was previously thought,. It also underscores the urgent need to pass the bold initiatives on healthcare, education, energy and the economy laid out the President’s budget. If we don’t deal with the major underlying problems with the economy and make it possible for business to create jobs, our deficits will only continue to explode. We simply cannot achieve sustainable economic growth without fixing our broken health care system, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and investing in tomorrow’s educated workforce. Bottom line: the most effective way for Congress to begin to regain control of the federal deficit is to support the President's budget plan that is blueprint for rebuilding and renewing America.”