Who’d of ever thought that Barack Obama might be considered a fiscal moderate when compared to President Joe Biden.
Indeed, one of the reasons Obama picked Biden to be his veep in 2008 was to “balance the ticket” and calm voters’ fears that Obama would be a no-limits big spender. In hindsight, maybe it was Obama who was the voice for fiscal restraint.
Take the Affordable Care Act. Here is what Obama said in his September 2009 health care speech to a joint session of Congress.
First, I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits—either now or in the future. Period. And to prove that I’m serious, there will be a provision in this plan that requires us to come forward with more spending cuts if the savings we promised don't materialize.
Of course, Obama reneged on his promise that the plan would not add “one dime to our deficits.” He gamed the numbers to make Obamacare look like it was “paid for.”
For example, most of the 21 new taxes in Obamacare began immediately, while most of the benefits didn’t start for four years. Under the Congressional Budget Office’s mandatory 10-year, fiscal-impact estimates, that was 10 years of taxes to pay for six years of benefits.
Obama’s claim was largely a ploy to provide political cover for Democrats and the media trying to convince voters to support the plan.
But at least Obama gave a nod, and some pressure, to being fiscally prudent about Obamacare’s estimated $1 trillion in new health care spending.
No one expects Biden to say, “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits—either now or in the future,” when he rolls out his new infrastructure bill.
Oh, he certainly wants to increase taxes—by $3 trillion, according to a new Washington Post report. And he reportedly wants roughly $4 trillion in new spending, which will likely roll out in two phases.
But his trillions of dollars in new spending won’t depend on trillions of dollars in new taxes. He wants both, but he will take either.
Shortly after Obama took office in 2009, a highway billboard appeared in the Washington area with a picture of former President George W. Bush with the words “Miss me yet?”.
That answer then was yes.
If a billboard were to appear in Washington sometime soon with a picture of Obama and the words “Miss me yet?” I think the answer would also be yes.
March 30, 2021