Honest accounting and deficits matter? Real change?

rdan

The following is the meme on the deficits for many Republicans. I do not recall any CBO thoughts being quoted so forcefully and completely on the budget by a Republican…or even mentioned much…in years. Supporters are tossing out the meme, usually with no numbers or per centages and a comparison. Prove it Mr. McCain, don’t just spit it out. There have been a lot of experiments since the 70’s.

Of course such spending is unsustainable…everyone knows that. How does one deal with today, post TARP? Our Republican friends toss out warnings and hope something sticks? What are they tossing…mud, hopefully.

Time quotes McCain on the new budget:

“The Congressional Budget Office report proves that the Administration has indeed engaged in a policy of generational theft,” said Senator John McCain. “The CBO numbers show the reality of the fundamentally flawed assumptions of the President’s budget and make clear what it really is: a risky, debt-ridden threat to the Nation. The CBO’s report projects deficits of over $2 trillion higher than what the White House predicted.”

“This staggering deficit threatens our children’s and grandchildren’s future and simply cannot be sustained,” continued McCain. “If the Administration had learned anything in the last week, I would have hoped that it was that the American people deserve an honest accounting of what they’re paying for. The profligate spending spree the Congress and Administration has been engaged in must be controlled. I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to chart a different course toward real change and fiscal responsibility.”

Update 2: Bruce Webb says “Considering that just about $1.2 trillion of FY 2009 debt was accrued on Bush’s watch a fair reading of the CBO chart is that Obama would have exactly one year higher than Bush’s highest.” in comments.

Update: This is a graph from the CBO analysis: