President Barack Obama is promising to slash federal spending by $2 trillion, even as the administration initially invests large sums of money to revive the faltering economy.
Obama acknowledged in a statement that “we must add to our debt in the short run” in order to restore American business vitality. But at the same time, he said lowering the debt in the longer-term would be the only responsible approach to the country’s fiscal policies.
He spoke Thursday morning as his administration was preparing to release an outline of its tax and spending proposals for the new budget year starting Oct. 1. Obama said that the administration has “already identified” areas in which it can eventually slash federal spending by $2 trillion.
Administration officials talking on grounds of anonymity earlier told The Associated Press that the new blueprint predicts a whopping $1.75 trillion deficit in the current budget year.
