Joe Biden‘s recent budget proposal has been described as “the most reckless fiscal policy in the last half century” by the former acting chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under former President Trump, Tyler Goodspeed.
Biden unveiled his $1.5 trillion “skinny budget” on April 9, noting that it was just the precursor to the full annual budget. This out of control spending comes on top of his $1.9 trillion COVID package and his $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal.
Democrats love spending other people’s money, especially when it comes to their pet projects. Biden’s “skinny budget” includes money dedicated to climate change, education, civil rights, public health research, and the opioid crisis.
According to Yahoo! News, the budget includes: “$103 billion for the Education Department, a 41% increase over the 2021 enacted level, an increase of $14 billion to fight climate change, $10.7 billion to combat the opioid crisis, and $8.7 billion for the CDC to prepare for future public health crises.”
Goodspeed, who is also the Kleinheinz Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, is worried about the repercussions of this spending.
“I’m an economic historian, and I think we are looking right now at the most reckless fiscal policy in the last half century,” said Goodspeed.
“With this so-called skinny proposal, we’re seeing a proposed increase in non-defense discretionary spending of 16%, it’s highest level as a share of the economy since 1965,” Goodspeed continued. “And Democratic leadership in Congress has been cleared to pass another reconciliation bill this year, so I think that we are in unprecedented territory when it comes to fiscal policy.”
Biden’s budget would only increase defense programs by 1.7%, which is much less than Republicans have been advocating for, but more than Democrats want. Goodspeed is concerned that the U.S. is not spending enough on defense — especially the current threat posed by China.
“The People’s Republic of China has become a global superpower with capacities for surveillance and technological disruption that their Soviet predecessors would have marveled at,” Goodspeed said. “In the context of that security threat, we ought to be thinking very, very carefully about whether or not the Department of Defense is adequately funded.”
Goodspeed also has some advice for Biden: focus on job creation. “There is not going to be a recovery in the U.S. economy until there’s a recovery in the U.S. labor market,” he said.
“Make sure that the incentives are in place for employers to continue hiring, and make sure that we are not imposing unduly high implicit marginal tax rates on the return to work” Goodspeed added.
It is expected that Biden will release a more detailed budget proposal later this year, possibly in the spring.
