“We need to cut wasteful government spending,” said Mr. Mr. McCarthy and other members of his leadership team. said in a joint statement issued after Biden’s budget was released. “Our debt is one of the biggest threats to America, and it’s time to address this crisis.”
The budget sees the total national debt rising by about $18 trillion to more than $50 trillion by 2033. But the administration says the growth does not threaten the economy. “The economic burden of debt will remain low and in line with recent historical experience over the next decade,” administration officials wrote in the plan.
Last year’s budget painted a rosy and ultimately over-optimistic picture of the US economy. The administration expected GDP growth 4.2 percent For example, after adjusting for inflation, but in the end it rose more modestly 2.1 percent.
The new budget projections were more muted with one caveat. After adjusting for inflation, the White House sees the economy growing just 0.6 percent this year, a weaker pace than outside expectations. It also predicted a significant increase in the unemployment rate – to 4.3 percent, a significant rise from 3.4 percent in January. Along with that slowdown, inflation is also expected to moderate.
But officials noted that the administration completed its projections in November and the economic data was stronger than expected. Managerial Economists said in a blog post In that light unemployment will be “lower” than the official forecast.
Most of the contents of the budget Mr. Leftovers from Biden’s previous plans. But there were also some new projects. One of them is a tax on the energy used in creating new digital currency assets known as cryptocurrency mining. That practice relies on large amounts of electricity and produces emissions that contribute to climate change.
Administration officials want to discourage the practice, which they say hinders the country’s energy transition. So they proposed a 30 percent tax on the electricity it uses, phased in over three years, on the theory that the energy involved, whether it comes from utility or local sources like home solar panels, would be put to better use. In another application.
Reporting contributed Gina Smialek, Ana Swanson, Carl Hulse, Katie Edmondson, Jolan Kanno-Youngs And Alan Rapport.
