Obama And His New Economic Team Call For “Cuts And Sacrifices”

I’m confused. Obama is talking about going through the federal budget “line by line” to find places where “cuts and sacrifices” can be made. And I applaud him for that, if he truly means it, because it’s something that desperately needs doing.
But while he’s calling for “cuts and sacrifices” he’s also calling for increased government spending, which he calls “investment” into job creation. Meaning he wants to cut spending in some areas, and increase spending in others.
Isn’t that sort of…counterproductive? I mean, what’s the net impact to the taxpayers? Remember that Obama’s “tax relief” plan is essentially the same thing. He calls it a tax cut for “95% of Americans” but what it boils down to is a tax hike for people already paying the most in taxes and a check in the mail for the people paying little or nothing in taxes. So again, what is the net impact?
I think what we’re going to find is that Obama’s spending and cuts will add up to a net gain in spending, and that his tax cuts and hikes will end up in a net increase in taxation. In fact, I think the only reason Obama is even talking about spending cuts or tax cuts at all is to distract from the spending increases and tax hikes he plans on putting in place. He probably wouldn’t be a very popular guy if he just came right out and said he was going to increase spending and taxes, but promising to cut spending and taxes in some ways and raise them in others?
It’s an effective bit of sleight-of-hand.