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Obama’s $100 Million "Spending Cut" Illustrated

Posted 29 Apr 2009 in Barack Obama, Democrats, economy


(h/t: Jawa Report)
Don’t get me wrong, I think reducing $100 million from the federal budget is a good thing. But cutting a mere 0.0025% of a $3.5 TRILLION dollar budget is hard to grasp until you get a graphic representation of the actual scale involved. Especially when you consider the $8 billion in earmarks contained in the omnibus spending bill was called “a tiny part of the budget” by Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs

JENNIFER LOVEN, AP: The $100 million target figure that the president talked about today with the Cabinet, can you explain why so small? I know he talked about—you know, you add up 100 million and 100 million, and eventually, you get somewhere, but it would take an awfully long time to add up hundred million (inaudible) in the deficit. Why not target a bigger number?

GIBBS: (Smiling) Well, I think only in Washington, D.C. is a hundred million dollars…

LOVEN: The deficit’s very large. It’s not a joke.

GIBBS: No, I’m…

LOVEN: The deficit’s giant. $100 million really is only a step.

GIBBS: But no joke.

LOVEN: You sound like you’re joking about it, but it’s not funny.

GIBBS: I’m not making jokes about it. I’m being completely sincere that only in Washington, D.C. is $100 million not a lot of money. It is where I’m from. It is where I grew up. And I think it is for hundreds of millions of Americans.

LOVEN: The point is it’s not a very big portion of the deficit.

TAPPER: You were talking about an appropriations bill a few weeks ago about $8 billion being minuscule—$8 billion in earmarks. We were talking about that and you said that that…

GIBBS: Well, in terms of—in…(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: …$100 million is a lot but $8 billion is small?

A reader at Instapundit put it another way:

“Since the President is selling this as a typical household cutting costs, 100 million dollars of a nominal 1 trillion dollar budget is equivalent of a family making $75,000 forgoing two cups of coffee IN A YEAR. Some budget choices.”

Posted by FullMetalPatriot
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT

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