Deficits would total $6 trillion over the next 10 years under President Obama’s proposed Fiscal 2016 budget, according to the Congressional Budget Office. While still troubling, that would be $1.2 trillion lower than CBO’s recently updated projections under current law.
The budget office says that under the President’s budget, the deficit in Fiscal 2015 would remain at $486 billion, as projected under current law. It would drop in 2016 before steadily increasing to $801 billion by 2025.
Debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) would be 73 percent in 2025, 4 percentage points less than projected under current law. Interest payments would rise to $769 billion by 2025 under the President’s budget, compared to CBO’s baseline projection of $808 billion.
Yet the President’s budget could do more to address worrisome fiscal trends. For example, mandatory spending — not including the highways and mass transit that he adds to this category — would increase to 14.4 percent of GDP over the next decade. That is higher than the 14.1 percent CBO projects under current law, and well above the historical average.
Two of the larger provisions in Obama’s budget would limit certain tax deductions and exclusions, raising revenues by $526 billion over the next decade, and changes in Medicare that would reduce outlays by $408 billion.
External links:
CBO Analysis of President’s Budget
President’s Budget Sets The Stage for Vigorous Debate on Fiscal Priorities (Concord)
