If President Obama thinks the political earthquake that hit his party last month in Massachusetts was bad, he had better read the Congressional Budget Office's latest economic forecasts for the next two years.
In testimony before the House Budget Committee last week, which got scant news media attention, CBO Director Douglas W. Elmendorf painted a bleak forecast for the nation's economy under the White House's no-jobs, no-growth tax and spending policies. It spells even deeper political losses for the Democrats in Congress than are presently forecast.
Mr. Elmendorf, who was appointed by Democratic congressional leaders, told the committee that economic growth will be painfully slow over the next several years and that will keep the national unemployment rate at an average of 10 percent throughout fiscal 2011, which ends in September of that year.
Contrary to Mr. Obama's Herbert Hoover mantra that economic recovery and more jobs are just around the corner, the CBO budget chief said the economy will grow by a weak 1.6 percent this fiscal year and the jobless rate will average 10.2 percent.
CBO's outlook for 2011 is just as bleak. The nation's gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to reach barely 1.8 percent, while unemployment is projected to show scant improvement, averaging 9.8 percent for that fiscal year.
The administration's unprecedented budget deficits are expected to be more than $1 trillion this year and next and stay at very high levels for years to come.
The INTEREST on the deficits run up in the three years from 2009 thru 2011 will mean INTEREST PAYMENTS ALONE ON THESE THREE YEARS ALONE WILL BE 4 BILLION DOLLARS A WEEK, UNTIL THIS DEFICIT IS PAID OFF, OR FOREVER
THAT'S EIGHTY F-35's A WEEK
IN INTEREST