Jim Acosta Had a Sad Gathering of Resistance Losers in DC
We Are in a Political Game
Democrats Have Suddenly Become Interested in the Epstein Files – I Wonder Why?
Top Lawyer Shuts Down Elon Musk’s Explosive Claim About Trump and Epstein
'Corrupt As Hell': Trump Goes Off on The New York Times and Washington...
The Spat vs. the Scandal
Tehran’s Nuclear Lies Unraveled by Iran’s Democratic Resistance
Trump Administration Blasts Boston Mayor's 'Sickening' Comments About ICE Agents
The Latest Jobs Report Is Here
Musk Changed His Tune on Decommissioning Dragon Amid Trump Feud. Here's Why.
There's Been an Update About That Reported Phone Call Between Trump, Musk Following...
Here's What Jasmine Crockett Thinks Is Going to Help Her Party for 'This...
Disgusting: Major Event in Texas Canceled Over Jihadist Threats
Four Democrat-Led States Urge the FDA to Lift Abortion Pill Restrictions
Scott Jennings Certainly Has Thoughts on KJP’s New Book
OPINION

More on the Ryan-Murray Budget Deal

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

The Ryan-Murray budget deal is remarkably bad when you look at the details. If the Republican Party is supposed to be the fiscally conservative party, there is virtually nothing Republican in the agreement. The Democrats could have written the whole thing themselves. It raises spending and taxes, and reduces the deficit only in a jury-rigged scorekeeping kind of a way that won’t actually be realized.

This analysis by Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee (SBC) provides details. The last page shows the year-by-year numbers.

The deal raises spending $63 billion in 2014 and 2015, split between defense and nondefense programs. That is a lot of money even by Washington standards, and it effectively guts the Budget Control Act of 2011. At least it guts the authority of it; appropriators now know that if they whine and complain a bit, future-year spending caps will dissolve like butter under a hot knife.

In return for the spending hike, the deal creates $85 billion of savings on paper. According to the SBC analysis, $34 billion of those savings are actually revenue increases and $51 billion are spending reductions. So there are more spending hikes in this package ($63 billion) than claimed spending cuts ($51 billion). So this agreement makes government bigger, not smaller, even by its own accounting.

Here’s the most astounding thing: $47 billion of the $85 billion in claimed savings are scored to occur in 2022 and 2023. So the package hikes spending right now, but promises to deliver more than half of the offsetting savings a decade from now.

Most of the 2022 and 2023 savings ($28 billion) are supposed to come from putting caps on entitlement spending in those years. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Jeff Sessions says these savings are of “dubious validity,” but he is being polite. After all, we now know that Republicans won’t stick with caps when push comes to shove, so I would call those future caps “worthless.”

If we count the 2022 and 2023 entitlement savings as being worth zero, we are left with a budget package that hikes spending $63 billion, cuts other spending just $23 billion, and raises revenues $34 billion. With fiscal results like that, I’d take gridlock over bipartisan agreement any day.

For more on the budget deal, click here.

Advertisement

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Townhall Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement