The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that if Congress simply does nothing for the next few years, the fiscal picture will improve by about $7.1 trillion over the next 10 years. About $4 trillion of that is the expiration of the Bush tax cuts. An additional $1.2 trillion comes from the trigger that kicks in when the supercommittee fails. Some Medicare cuts, the expiration of stimulus programs and lower interest payments account for most of the rest. Our projected deficits look so large only because we expect Congress to pursue these policies without paying for them.
Obama could simply say “no” to this: He could say he plans to veto any non-emergency proposals that increase the federal deficit.
But the veto plan shouldn’t be anyone’s ideal policy, least of all Obama’s. Rather, it should be Obama’s trigger: The thing that happens if Congress refuses to agree to a better deal.
