Eyes on 2012, Conservatives Sarah Palin and Rick Santorum Hammer Obama Budget

Two conservatives who are both weighing a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 took aim at the budget proposed by President Barack Obama on Monday.

The White House finally produced its proposal for the 2012 budget, noted former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Monday. The White Houses plans are more about raising taxes and growing more government than reducing budget shortfalls.

The fine print reveals a White House proposal to increase taxes by at least $1.5 trillion over the next decade, added Palin. If you want to know how minuscule their proposed $775 million-a-year budget cuts really are, please look at this chart. The proposed cuts are so insignificant less than one-tenth of 1 percent of this years $1.65 trillion budget deficit that they are essentially invisible on the pie chart. That speaks volumes about todays budget.

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania also ripped into the presidents proposed budget.

The budget released today by President Obama tells a very clear story: We are writing checks our government cannot pay, said Santorum. Excessive new spending coupled with damaging tax increases will do nothing to improve our economic outlook or reduce the size and scope of government. Congressional Republicans must act to stop this budget in its tracks.

This budget also lacks a very critical component it does not address entitlement reform, continued Santorum.We cannot have an honest conversation about consequential spending cuts without reforming Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and repealing our countrys most recently enacted entitlement: Obamacare.We must also address the skyrocketing costs of running the federal government with an excessive number of new employees and the costs associated with federal benefits. Our elected officials must have the courage to be honest with the American people even when politically difficult that these issues must be tackled if we are to reduce our governments spending.

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