WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama, less than two months after signing tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans into law, is proposing a budget to congress that attacks programs that assist the working poor, help the needy heat their homes, expand access to graduate-level education and undermine that type of community-based organizations that gave the president his start in Chicago.

Obama's new budget puts forward a plan to achieve $1.1 trillion in deficit reductions over the next decade, according to an administration official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity in advance of the formal release of the budget.

Those reductions -- averaging just over $100 billion each year -- are achieved mainly by squeezing social programs. A deal struck to extend the Bush tax cuts for just two years, meanwhile, increased the deficit by $858 billion dollars. More than $500 billion of that bargain constituted tax cuts, with billions more funding business tax breaks and a reduction in the estate tax. Roughly $56 billion went to reauthorize emergency unemployment benefits.
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Kerolm wrote:My outlook:
There doesn't seem to be any realistic means of making things work without substantial tax increases somewhere. There is zero political or societal will to do this.

Some cuts to government services also seems inevitable sometime, but there is zero willpower to do this either.

In short, nobody wants to really do a damn thing about it. This is everyone's fault.

Joe09 wrote:

Kerolm wrote:My outlook:
There doesn't seem to be any realistic means of making things work without substantial tax increases somewhere. There is zero political or societal will to do this.

Some cuts to government services also seems inevitable sometime, but there is zero willpower to do this either.

In short, nobody wants to really do a damn thing about it. This is everyone's fault.

They could start by not cutting tax for the rich

Paul G wrote:Hey America...

Game.Over.

Kerolm wrote:From a political point of view (ew) I think he's trying to do something tricky. He's proposing relatively painless, yes I know some of it sucks, spending cuts in order to force republicans to go much farther. This forces their plan to be much more painful, which he can then counter with a more reasonable plan, or force reasonable bargaining. Not saying this will actually happen, but I like to think folks know what they're doing. Feel free to laugh at my speculation if things go very badly....

Speculation is fun, even if it is often pointless.

Kerolm wrote:From a political point of view (ew) I think he's trying to do something tricky. He's proposing relatively painless, yes I know some of it sucks, spending cuts in order to force republicans to go much farther. This forces their plan to be much more painful, which he can then counter with a more reasonable plan, or force reasonable bargaining. Not saying this will actually happen, but I like to think folks know what they're doing. Feel free to laugh at my speculation if things go very badly....

Speculation is fun, even if it is often pointless.

FACT-MAN-2 wrote:I think the White House is gravely misreading the public mind on this and are operating out of fear that they'll get their butt's kicked in 2012 if they don't kow-tow to teabagger demands to cut spending. This is not uncommon for sitting administratons but this is a particularly egregious case of it and shows Obama's immaturity and lack of will as a politician. He's running scared, never a good place to run from because it makes you do all sort and manner of dumb shit you wouldn't ordinarily do, as he has done in this case. Polling shows that most Americans are much less into cutting spending than they are angry about the state of the economy and want government action to create jobs. Some of this almost has to be attributed to Daly, Obama's new Chief of Staff.

I don't think the WH can read polls. I think they're in panic mode after being shellacked in the 2010 midterms.

The Repugs must be laughing this morning, while the D's are left to cry.

No balls Obama will lose his base and be a one-term President.

Shame on him.

Matt H wrote:What would you guys do to get rid of the deficit?

Kerolm wrote:

Matt H wrote:What would you guys do to get rid of the deficit?

Raise taxes as appropriate to pay for the shit that people request from government perhaps?

NineOneFour wrote:Right Wing Lunatic Obama

Matt H wrote:

Kerolm wrote:

Matt H wrote:What would you guys do to get rid of the deficit?

Raise taxes as appropriate to pay for the shit that people request from government perhaps?

Wouldn't raising taxes hurt the poor too? As well as hitting businesses?