“Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different result is a generally agreed upon definition of insanity.  Today we can safely say the president’s approach to budgeting is insane.” said Holtz-Eakin. “The President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2013 continues his established strategy of spending more, taxing more and running larger deficits.  It not only breaks President Obama’s pledge to cut the deficit in half during his term, it continues to ignore the recommendations of his own fiscal reform commission and thus recklessly risks a debt crisis.  Higher taxes on small business owners will impede needed job growth, more spending simply runs up the bill for our children and failing to reform entitlements plays a dangerous game of chicken with seniors and the social safety net.

“Instead of a serious budget we are presented with a campaign pitch featuring finger pointing at rich guys and their secretaries, Wall Street and the middle class and the Congress.  Do not expect an admission that in Obama’s Washington the vacuum of leadership starts with the White House, extends to a Senate that has had no plans to present a budget for over 1,000 days running, and is reinforced by politically-motivated special deals to big energy, big unions, and big healthcare. Expect the president to spend more time on the campaign trail than working with leaders in Congress to find a bipartisan solution to fix our fiscal trajectory. Just don’t expect any real leadership.”