Sen. Gregg: Obama’s Budget Has ‘Serious Problems’

"I don’t think [Obama was elected to bankrupt the country," Gregg
said. Audio version below "Basically if you run up deficits <a href=”http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/comment/Gerald-Warner-Obama39s-pork-barrel.4982005.jp#comments”>at this level</a> — where you’re
doubling the national debt in five years and tripling it in 10 years
and then doing virtually nothing to bring it down in the out years —
and you don’t address the fundamental underlying problems that’s
driving the cost of spending, which are the cost of the major
entitlement programs as a result of the retirement of the baby boom
generation, you’re going to pass on to our children a government that
simply can’t be afforded."

Gregg says he worries that unlike people of his generation, current
young people won’t be able to send their children to college or buy
homes. "The burden of taxation will be so extraordinarily high
to maintain the cost of the retired generation that they simply won’t
be able to have a high quality of life," Gregg says."The simple
fact is that under our system we have an extremely progressive tax law
right now, where 85 percent of the taxes are borne by the top 20
percent of [income-earning people, which is more progressive than
occurred under the Clinton years, where about 82 percent was borne by
the top 20 percent," Gregg explains. Gregg says those making over $250,000 are frequently the small-business owners and sole proprietors. "Seventy
percent of the jobs in America today are created by small-business
people," Gregg says. "So basically what you’re putting in place is a
tax burden which is going to make it very difficult for those folks who
are the entrepreneurs and job creators in our society to be successful."<a href=”http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101207727″>Source</a>

2009-02-26