Washington Examiner – by Brian Hughes
President Obama Thursday touted the looming release of his federal budget, urging Republicans to support a slate of tax increases to pay for his economic blueprint for the middle class.
“We have to choose what we want that future to look like,” Obama said in an op-ed published by the Huffington Post. “Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well? Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and rising chances for everyone who makes the effort?”
The president is calling for a 7 percent spending hike in fiscal 2016, the elimination of across-the-board budget cuts, the so-called sequester, and an increase of $320 billion in taxes over the next decade.
Obama will formally unveil his budget on Monday, which he is labeling a “blueprint for success.”
Obama is framing his budget as a populist method for boosting the middle class. Republicans counter that his tax hikes would imperil recent economic growth.
“First, I’m proposing we make the kinds of investments we need to continue to grow our economy and enhance our national security,” Obama said. “These proposals are pragmatic; they’re the types of things both parties should be able to support.”
Obama acknowledged that he will struggle to win over Republicans on heightened spending — conservatives contend that the president’s budget is dead on arrival — but highlighted the recent decline in annual deficits.
“Where Democrats and Republicans often disagree is in how to pay for these kinds of ideas,” he said. “I’m proud that since I took office, we’ve experienced the fastest period of sustained deficit reduction since the end of World War II. If Congress passes my budget, our country would meet the key test of fiscal sustainability, with our debt declining as a share of our GDP.”
The president did not mention that the national debt has surpassed $18 trillion under his watch.
Obama also focused on the so-called sequester, pressing Republicans to undo the “arbitrary” cuts.
“If Congress rejects my plan and refuses to undo these arbitrary cuts, it will threaten our economy and our military,” he said. “Investments in key areas will fall to their lowest level in ten years, adjusted for inflation, putting American research, education, infrastructure, and national security at risk.”
Obama is calling for $530 billion in spending on the non-defense discretionary side, an increase of $37 billion over current limits. The president’s budget also proposes $561 billion in defense spending above set levels, an increase of roughly $38 billion, the White House said.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obama-my-budget-is-a-blueprint-for-success/article/2559479