The Mid-Session Review

The Obama administration has just released the Mid-Session Review of the Budget.  (As one of my friends snarkily puts it, "Release at 4 pm on Friday...who could have expected when we're living in a new era of fiscal responsibility?")

This budget document shows what would happen to the federal budget under the Administration's economic forecast and assuming that all the President's proposed policies are adopted.  What does the document show?  Based on a quick read, here is what I see:

• The Administration believes we will have real growth about 4 percent over the next four years.  Unemployment is projected to fall steadily, reaching to 5.5 percent at the end of 2015.
• Deficits are projected to shrink but will not fall below 3.4 percent of GDP over the ten-year budget window.
• The ratio of debt to GDP rises in each of the following ten years, with no end in sight.
• The document once again holds out the hope that the fiscal commission will save the day by somehow finding a way to put the budget on a sustainable path.