Obama Belatedly Engages on Budget by Launching a Political Screed

J.D. Foster / April 13, 2011

An editorial headline in today’s Washington Post captured it well: “Late to the Game – Again.”

President Obama gave what was billed today as a major speech on fiscal policy. The speech, more a partisan campaign blast than an attempt at non-partisan leadership, comes two months after he released his Fiscal Year 2012 budget, which aside from $2.2 trillion in phony policy was largely silent on the near- and long-term budget picture.

President Obama was driven out of hiding largely by the Path to Prosperity plan released last week by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI). The Ryan plan is chock full of major policy initiatives, all duly scored by the Congressional Budget Office, describing a sound strategy for a sustainable fiscal policy without raising taxes. (more…)