Donald Trump’s political career is based on several myths. When it comes to the economy, Trump has perpetuated the myth that he was a president who could grow the economy. The reality is that Trump spent his first term on the fumes of the Obama economy, and his second administration has disproved that part of his mythology.
Trump has also claimed to be motivated to reduce waste in government, but his budget proposal is chock full of outdated, wasteful spending for the Pentagon.
Trump has also claimed to be fiscally conservative, but its willingness to add debt and inflate the deficit tells a different story.
The Center For A Responsible Federal Budget reviewed Trump’s proposal and found:
The budget proposes to increase total defense funding to $1.5 trillion by FY 2027 – including $350 billion in funding in a new reconciliation bill and a $251 billion increase in discretionary base defense spending – partially offset by a purported $73 billion (10%) reduction in non-defense discretionary base spending.
The budget does not include official budget figures, but based on the supplementary documents we estimate that the budget reports reducing debt to about 94% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2036 – compared to 120% of GDP under the most recent Congressional Budget Office baseline – largely based on the assumption of 3% average annual real GDP growth over the decade.
The Trump budget is based on sunny growth forecasts that are not supported by reality, but that’s not the worst of it.
