Obama Math

President Obama unveiled his budget yesterday. Unfortunately there are no surprises in it. He talks about reducing the deficit yet his plan will projects $1.65 trillion in deficit spending which is a record. It would make the country's deficit the largest percentage of the economy since 1945.

His biggest solution? Taxes of course. We can't say that's a surprise from the left. What is surprising is that while the deficit becomes a bigger issue by the day, Obama and his followers continue to try the same old "tax and spend" tactics the left has championed for decades.

While he proposes decreasing spending in the Department of Agriculture by 1.5%, he ups spending in the Commerce Department by 13.9%. He can point to a 6.1% decrease in Corps of Engineers spending but that's offset by 38.5% increase in Education. Transportation is the biggest winner with a proposed increase in their budget of 68%.

For years Democrats have continued to pour money into the black hole of public education without holding teachers and administrators responsible for results. Apparently the president wants to continue that trend. I suppose old habits really are hard to break.

The biggest farce is the increase in Transportation spending. I realize our bridges and roads need repairs and upgrades. However, a large portion of this new spending is geared toward rail service; specifically high speed rail. That's something that would be nice to have but not if we can't afford it, and we can't. Why not make that a long range goal and focus short term on what really matters; reducing the deficit as much as possible as soon as possible.

Obama was given another great opportunity to show leadership. Put entitlement programs on the table. Show us how deep you're willing to cut spending. Show us some fiscal responsibility. Of course he's trying to put Republicans in the position of advocating cuts while he can offer a plateful of goodies. He can play class warfare by promoting tax hikes on those that already pay the most taxes. That way he looks like the good guy while he and the rest of the left can claim that fiscal conservatives want old people to die from eating dog food because "their" money is being taken away.

It's a risky move with the presidential election on the horizon. Now is the time for Republicans and even conservative Democrats to stand firm and fight. This country literally cannot afford this budget. Call and email your representatives. The election was only the beginning for the Tea Party movement and the revival of fiscal conservatism. This is now the real battle and we must all fight.