So now we hear that in his State of the Union Speech Wednesday night President Obama is going to call for a spending freeze in certain domestic programs. Good luck trying to sell that one to skeptical voters.
Here's the problem. 2009 happened. (bailout, stimulus, healthcare reform, etc)That means that in many voters minds the President lacks credibility on the fiscal restraint issue. He needs Independents to buy into the fact that he heard their message and is trying to recalibrate and reign in his big spending agenda but has the train already left the station or will Independents think that the President has heard their cries?
Part of the article from Time Magazine is below:
Facing voter anger over mounting budget deficits, President Barack Obama will ask Congress to freeze spending for some domestic programs for three years beginning in 2011, administration officials said Monday. Separately, Obama unveiled plans to help a middle class "under assault" pay its bills, save for retirement and care for kids and aging parents.
The spending freeze would apply to a relatively small portion of the federal budget, affecting a $477 billion pot of money available for domestic agencies whose budgets are approved by Congress each year. Some of those agencies could get increases, others would have to face cuts; such programs got an almost 10 percent increase this year. The federal budget total was $3.5 trillion.(See TIME's photoessay about President Obama, one year in.)
The three-year plan will be part of the budget Obama will submit Feb. 1, senior administration officials said, commenting on condition of anonymity to reveal private details. They said Obama was expected to propose the freeze Wednesday night in his State of the Union address.
The Pentagon, veterans programs, foreign aid and the Homeland Security Department would be exempt from the freeze.(See photos of Obama's personal touches to the Oval Office.)
The savings would be small at first, perhaps $10 billion to $15 billion, one official said. But over the coming decade, savings would add up to $250 billion.
The White House is under considerable pressure to cut deficits — the red ink hit a record $1.4 trillion this year — or at least keep them from growing. Encouraged by last week's Massachusetts Senate victory, Republicans are hitting hard on the issue, and polls show voters increasingly concerned.