Please consider 4 visualizations of Obama's Budget Cuts.



$17 Billion Cuts In Context







Obama Budget Cuts Visualization







Obama's "Unsustainable Course" (And what he's NOT doing something about)



Note: There is no audio in the middle portion of this video.







What Does The Federal Budget Freeze Look Like?







For more on budgetary math behind the freeze please see What Does the Federal Budget Freeze Look Like?

The amount saved from this freeze has been consistently reported as $15 billion in the first year and $250 billion over 10 years. I hate the “we’re saving $250 billion over 10 years” line. It is a piece of crass political rhetoric and I’m disappointed that the administration would use it. If they actually implement a three year freeze on the portion of the budget they’re talking about (which is a big if, but let’s assume the best), why measure the effects in the space of 10 years?



The answer is “To make the freeze look bigger”.



They might as well say that they’re saving a trillion dollars over the next 25 years or a hundred trillion over the next 300 years. It is a data statement designed to trick people.



Second, I hate the “We’re saving all this money by not spending it” line because it is similarly political. If a future politician wants to play this stupid numbers game, all they have to do is “project” that they will spend like a crazy person next year and when the next year comes, they decided to spend like a half crazy person. Then they can claim that they have “saved” all this money because they “reduced” their projected spending.



Keep in mind the hypocrisy on both sides of the aisle. Overall, it looks like both sides are more interested in political gain than in having a frank discussion about the numbers and what they mean. This should surprise no one, but I confess to finding myself somewhat dismayed that the Obama administration, for all their hype about being pro-science and pro-data, has no problem spinning the numbers in a way that decreases clear comprehension in order to increase message potency.

Where Are The Fiscal Conservatives?