Under the President’s Budget Proposals, The Federal Debt Approaches 200 Percent of GDP Over the Next 70 Years

SOURCE: Office of Management and Budget, The Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013, Analytical Perspectives

The President’s budget stabilizes the debt only in the short-term. If all of the proposals in the budget were adopted, government debt would still soar to unsustainable levels in the long run, even under the optimistic assumptions used in the administration’s long-run projections. Under less optimistic assumptions, debt would grow even faster. The President’s long-run budget projections assume that discretionary spending remains well below its 30-year historical average and that the growth of health care spending will slow significantly.

Download OMB’s Long-Term Budget Outlook

Download OMB’s Long-Term Budget Projections

Click here to read Michael Peterson's statement on President Obama's Budget.

Click here to read Michael Peterson's op-ed in Politico.