I hate to burst their bubble, but in the aftermath of yesterday's list of itemized spending cuts, it's worth taking a look at what impact the GOP's new proposal would have on the national debt compared to the tax cut package they supported in December:
These numbers are only for FY11, so we're not comparing apples and oranges. As you can see, Republicans have already voted for tax cuts that will add nearly fifteen times more to the national debt as they are proposing to cut on the spending side.
Republicans are also saying they plan to propose another $12 billion in cuts, but they haven't offered any details to back up their claim. On the tax cuts side, about $45 billion of the tax cuts are dedicated to the wealthiest 2% of Americans.
Bottom-line is that no matter how you slice it, no matter what their rhetoric may claim, Republicans are not at all serious about reducing the budget deficit or national debt. They are complete frauds.
If they were serious about fiscal security, they'd recognize that we've got a long-term challenge, not something that can or should be solved in a single budget cycle. And just as importantly, they'd recognize that revenue is every bit as important as spending, and that on the spending side our primary focus should be on reducing the growth in health care costs and reinvesting our bloated military budget on domestic priorities.