President Barack Obama’s economic forecasts for long-term growth are too optimistic, many economists warn, a miscalculation that would mean budget deficits will be much higher than the administration is now acknowledging.
The White House will be forced to confront the disconnect between its original, upbeat predictions and the mainstream consensus about how the economy is likely to perform in a new budget forecast to be unveiled next month.
Reality is beginning to hit the White House, but more importantly, it is beginning to seep through to the American people who are just starting to finally understand what Obama's economic schemes will be costing them, in the short run and in the long run.
This time, however, the new forecasts — if they are anything like what many outside economists expect — could send a jolt through Capitol Hill, where even the administration’s current debt projections already are prompting deep concerns on political and substantive grounds.
Higher deficit figures also would arrive at a critical moment in the health care debate, as lawmakers are already struggling to find a way to pay for the president’s nearly $1 trillion reform package.
Politico then does a series of interviews with "independent economists of varied political stripes" and finds "widespread disdain for Obama’s first round of assumptions, with some experts invoking such phrases as “rosy” and “fantasy.”
The administration is already under intense pressure over its economic calculations on the most politically sensitive statistic: employment. The administration once vowed to use stimulus policies to keep the jobless rate below 8 percent; it is now just shy of 10 percent.
Deficit figures do not pack the same emotional punch as unemployment lines do. But they matter greatly to policymakers and the financial markets as a measure of whether the country can afford Obama’s big agenda.
And the general public is paying attention, too.
In a June NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, a bare majority — 51 percent — of respondents approved of Obama’s handling of the economy, down from 56 percent in February.
In addition, 58 percent said the president and Congress should focus on keeping deficits down, even if that delays an economic recovery, the poll found.
“They used a rosy forecast, and that’s understandable because a quick recovery makes the rest of the agenda possible. It creates the basis for the revenues you need for health care and climate change,” said Robert Shapiro, a former Clinton economic adviser.
Read the whole three page report.
Now matter how much a fantasy Barack Obama promises Americans, people need to realize things are about to get worse with his massive spending habits and his agenda to socialize America.
WSJ- "The Economy Is Even Worse Than You Think."
.
