Key Numbers in the President’s Budget

Originally posted at National Review’s The Corner.

The budget is out. Here are some key numbers:

• Between now and FY 2022, spending will grow by $2 trillion.
• Over 10 years, the president will “cut” spending by $2.5 trillion, but cumulative spending will be $47 trillion.
• Between FY 2013 and FY 2022, debt will increase by $6.8 trillion (from FY 2012, add another $1.1 trillion).

Debt held by the public in 2012 will stand at $11.5 trillion, and by 2022 it will reach $19.4 trillion. That’s a $7,900,000,000,000 increase in our debt.

Most American families don’t have the luxury to go demand a raise from their boss because they need more money and they refuse to cut their spending; that is the core of the president’s budget. His budget plans to increase tax receipts from $2.4 trillion in 2012 to $5.1 trillion in 2022 (this is scored as a $1.5 trillion in savings). Most of the revenue increase would come from increases on taxes for wealthiest Americans ($1.4 trillion), a death-tax hike of $143 billion, and other tax increases of $340 billion.

The president is requesting an increase in spending every single year. In the next 10 years, spending will go up by more than $2 trillion, from $3.7 trillion in FY 2012 to $5.8 trillion in FY 2022. In fact, he is even requesting more spending for FY 2013 than he requested in last year’s budget.

• Request for FY 2013 last year: $3,771 billion
• Request for FY 2013 this year: $3,803 billion