Rubio: Obama’s budget is a blueprint for a recession

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued the following statement regarding President Obama’s budget:

“President Obama’s budget is a blueprint for a recession. Filled to the brim with middle class tax hikes and debt spending, the recycled liberal ideas in his budget have failed time and again to create real vibrant economic growth for the American people. Our nation needs a plan that reflects the principles of limited government, free enterprise and a strong national defense.

“President Obama’s plan taxes and punishes American success, and it encourages long-term dependency on government. The President already got $600 billion in tax increases from the fiscal cliff deal struck in January, which I opposed. Now he wants over $1 trillion more in taxes on retirement savings, small businesses and job creators who can’t afford to hire because they’re burdened with new costs as they scramble to figure out just what’s in ObamaCare. It will never even come close to balancing our budget in the next ten years, leaving it up to future generations to figure out how to stop Washington from spending more money than it takes in.

“While the President’s budget attempts to address some of the defense cuts imposed by sequestration, I am concerned that it does nothing to reverse the damaging impact that cuts have already had on our military readiness. America is becoming less capable of projecting power and deterring conflict wherever it arises. For example, despite almost daily evidence of the increasing threat to the United States posed by rogue states with ballistic missiles, the President’s budget cuts spending on missile defense.

“A solid budget proposal – like the one House Republicans submitted last month – would develop American energy projects like the Keystone XL pipeline, fundamentally reform the tax code, eliminate job-crushing regulations, cut wasteful spending, and ensure we have the military needed to keep Americans safe. We need to enact policy that allows for income mobility and empowers economic opportunity. The Obama budget fails to do all of this. On the bright side, after arriving 65 days late, the budget proposal is useless considering the House and Senate have already proposed and passed budget resolutions.”

The Heritage Foundation analyzed President Obama’s budget and published “Five key things to know about President Obama’s budget“:

1. It hikes taxes by $1.1 trillion.

Heritage’s Curtis Dubay says: “There was little doubt that President Obama would propose a huge tax hike in his budget. It is a bit surprising, however, that the total tax increase he proposes is almost double what he claims it to be.”

Dubay explains where all the tax increases come from—including the “Buffett Rule,” capping tax deductions, and hiking the cigarette tax and the death tax.

See an extended version of this infographic

2. It underfunds defense.

Heritage’s Patrick Louis Knudsen explains that “While boosting domestic spending, the President remains indifferent to national security needs. His proposed defense spending, though somewhat higher than sequestration levels, remains inadequate.” Baker Spring says, “The result is going to be a defense posture that is too small in terms of both personnel and force structure, does not include modern weapons and equipment, and does not provide adequate levels of training and maintenance.”

3. It doubles down on Obamacare.

The Obama budget actually expands parts of Obamacare and even includes new changes to Medicare that create two sneaky new “taxes” on seniors. Obamacare’s “malignant new entitlements—its health insurance subsidies and Medicaid expansions—start in this 2014 budget,” Knudsen reminds us.

With their implementation, the misnamed Affordable Care Act will add a distinctly unaffordable $1.8 trillion in federal spendingthrough 2023. Equally important, Obamacare commandeers the health care sector with a massive program that further distorts the market, intrudes on the doctor-patient relationship, and dismisses personal and religious liberty.

4. It doesn’t balance and never will.

As Knudsen says, “Because the budget never balances—it doesn’t even try—debt remains at dangerously elevated levels.” See how Obama’s non-balancing budget compares to the plansin the House and Senate, as well as Heritage’s Saving the American Dream plan.

5. It’s irrelevant.

The President’s budget is more than two months late. The House and Senate have already passed their own budgets, and the next step is for the two chambers to come together to see if they can hash out a budget that both chambers can pass. At this point, why is the President bothering?