Obama: 2013 budget reflects "tough choices"

President Obama's 2013 budget blends short-term stimulus spending aimed at boosting job-creation with longer term measures seeking to gradually balance the nation's books.

Speaking at Northern Virginia Community College in Annondale, Va., Obama echoed many of the themes that have featured in his recent speeches, including the need for all Americans to contribute their "fair share" and to play by the rules. "We've got to renew the American values of fair play and shared responsibility," he said.

Obama also said he is making "tough choices" in cutting government spending in order to put the country on a sustainable economic path. Yet he warned that excessively large cutbacks would threaten the recovery, which he said is gaining strength. "The last thing we need is for Washington to stand in the way of America's comeback," he said in urging lawmakers to approve a two percent cut in payroll taxes. "Congress needs to stop taxes from going up on 160 million Americans," he added.

The budget for the government's next fiscal year, which takes effect Oct. 1, would shrink the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 10 years by cutting federal spending and by raising taxes on people earning at least $250,000 per year. For 2013, the White House projects a deficit of $901 billion, or 5.5 percent of GDP. That figure is down from an estimated $1.33 trillion in fiscal-year 2012, 8.5 percent of GDP. The goal is to reduce the budget gap to 2.7 percent percent of GDP, or $575 billion, by 2018.

The plan calls for deficit reduction to be achieved chiefly by slashing government expenditures. Obama is proposing $2.50 in spending cuts for every $1 dollar the government would raise in revenue by raising taxes on high income-earners and from eliminating corporate tax breaks. Discretionary spending, annual government outlays approved by Congress on everything from health research and pollution control to education and child care, is slated to decline from 8.7 percent of GDP in 2011 to 5 percent in 2022. As part of these cuts backs, the defense budget would decrease $487 billion.

Mandatory spending programs -- those authorized by law, rather than set by Congress every year -- also would take a hit. More than $360 billion in savings would come from trimming Medicare, Medicaid, and other health programs over 10 years, mostly by reducing payments to health care providers.

Obama sends 2013 budget proposals to Congress
Big fight looms over Obama's budget proposal
Budget deficit drops to $27 billion in January
Obama budget plan: $901 billion shortfall in 2013
Obama's full fiscal-year 2013 budget

The tax measures included in the budget have long been on Obama's wishlist. He is pushing to let tax cuts for wealthier Americans enacted under President George W. Bush lapse, as scheduled, by year-end. Also on the agenda is the so-called Buffett rule, named after investor Warren Buffett, under which any U.S. household with annual income of more than $1 million would pay a minimum federal tax rate of 30 percent. These changes to the tax code would increase tax revenue by $1.5 trillion over 10 years, according to the White House.

"That's not class warfare, that's common sense, " Obama said in rejecting criticism that his tax proposals are unfair to wealthier Americans.

One new source of revenue envisioned under the president's budget -- a "financial crisis responsibility fee" levied on big banks that would raise $61 billion over 10 years. The charge is aimed at repaying taxpayers for bailing out large financial firms in 2008 and 2009.

To boost employment starting this year, Obama is asking for roughly $350 billion to extend and expand the payroll tax cut and to continue unemployment benefits through the end of the year. Part of that funding also would go toward rebuilding the nation's roads, railways, and airport runways; renovating schools; and helping states and municipalities hire and retain teachers and emergency personnel.

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[ckp016c]

"Relects tough choices" that he created!

[js2212]

"provide for the public welfare"

sailrick, this statement does not mean take from the rich to give to the poor. It does not mean provide endless dole-outs. It does not mean everyone is supposed to have economic equality. It does not mean that if you are successful your tax rate should be higher than everyone else's. Go ge4t and education and learn what it means, please.

[Osprey4]

Would someone please define the word "shrink" for me? I'm confused.

[js2212]

by sailrick February 14, 2012 12:36 PM EST

The rich are also paying the lowest effective taxes in 60 years.
_________________________________________________________________

So is everyone sail. More wealth envy voodoo math. The top earners already pay 70% of total federal tax revenue. You can look it up at the IRS. Out of 139,960, 000 individual tax returns in 2010, the top 10% of earners or those earning more than $113,000 paid 70% of Federal tax. The top 1% paid 38%. The bottom 50% paid 2.7% of ALL FEDERAL TAX REVENUE.

There is nothing that says you deserve to have others more successful than you pay more of their income in tax, except Marx or the communist manifesto. Revel in your warm cloak of popular sentiment sailrick. You will not turn this country into a Socialist state. Ever.

[sailrick]

Solyndra

"In a recent 'investigation' for CBS's This Morning, Attkisson purported to reveal 11 'New Solyndras' - companies she said 'are having trouble' or 'have filed for bankruptcy' after receiving federal assistance.

But Attkisson was counting companies that didn't even receive federal funds, companies that haven't actually gone bankrupt, and companies that have sold the government-backed projects to other firms, meaning taxpayer funds are not in their hands.

Bill O'Reilly and CBSNews used Attkisson's misleading report to spread additional false information"

from getenergysmartnow

[sailrick]

One thing that will get the economy going is a commitment to renewable energy. Solar and wind have been bright spots in the economy during this tough economic time. Solar already employes 100,000 people and wind employs 70,000.

But the GOP is dead set against clean energy.
They have been using the phony Solyndra scandal as an excuse to bash all clean energy. Solyndra was one rather high risk solar company that got a govt. loan guarantee. But 86% of the clean energy companies getting these govt loan guarantees are low risk.

Solyndra's technology looked promising even a year ago, but the solar industry has moved too fast for them. The price of solar panels dropped 40% this year, while the industry grew by 69% in the U.S. The solar industry is trying to work off an overcapacity program. Companies built up capacity and the prices fell. Even low cost Chinese solars are having trouble making a profit. Things are looking up though.

The ironic thing is that the same GOP congressmen making all the noise about Solyndra, are themselves guilty of crony capitalism on a grand scale with the fossil fuel industry. And that one has been going on for a century.

Oil has been subsidized since 1918
Coal has been subsidized since 1932
Fossil fuels get TWICE as much in subsidies and tax credits as all renewable energy combined.

And all these GOP congressmen are scieintifically illiterate global warming deniers. Fred Upton, one of the most outspoken on Solyndra, says -
"there can be no global warming because God won't allow it."

Are you kidding? Upton is chairman of the House committee on Energy and Commerce?

God Help Us

The GOP would have the U.S. just give up in the world wide clean energy revolution.

[sailrick]

"DOE Loan Guarantee Program Will Cost $2 Billion Less Than Initially Expected"

"In an independent review, John McCain's former National Finance Chairman finds the loan guarantee program was cost-effective for taxpayers

There are multiple reasons why the risks to taxpayers from this program are so low. First, most of the guarantees went to support projects that have very secure contracts to sell their power to investment-grade rated utilities

Second, even in the event that something does go wrong with an investment, there is almost always someone willing to buy the project at a discount

In short, the DOE Loan Guarantee Program is helping to move our country forward, and it's doing it by responsibly managing taxpayer money.

When DOE issued these guarantees, they expected that they would cost the government more than $5 billion. At their most recent internal analysis, DOE concluded that the loans were performing better than expected, and that they would not cost less than $3 billion.

Allison and his team of independent consultants found that even DOE's most recent project was too high, and that the guarantees would only cost $2.7 billion."
{from Climate Progress 2/10/2011}

[sailrick]

Solyndra

"In a recent 'investigation' for CBS's This Morning, Attkisson purported to reveal 11 'New Solyndras' - companies she said 'are having trouble' or 'have filed for bankruptcy' after receiving federal assistance.

But Attkisson was counting companies that didn't even receive federal funds, companies that haven't actually gone bankrupt, and companies that have sold the government-backed projects to other firms, meaning taxpayer funds are not in their hands.

Bill O'Reilly and CBSNews used Attkisson's misleading report to spread additional false information"

from getenergysmartnow

[sailrick]

The tax revenue (as percentage of total federal revenue), from individuals has stayed level for decades, while that from corporations has dropped to only 1/4th what it was in the 1950s

[sailrick]

GOP lies on the economy

It is high time, that McConnel, Boehner and company stop telling lies every time they open their mouth.

The American People don't want more taxes, the GOP says.

The American People, or 95% of them, got tax breaks from Obama
The American People, or 70% of them, want the rich to pay more taxes.

The vast majority of jobs are created by small businesses, like the ones Obama gave tax breaks to. Over 90% of job creation is by businesses that make less than $250,000, and so got Obama tax cuts.

Michelle Bachman mis-quotes the OMB as saying Obamacare will cost 800,000 jobs.

What they actually said was that 800,000 seniors are holding on to jobs they don't really want, just to get healthcare, and that Obamacare would free up those jobs for younger job seekers. - Which is about the opposite of what Bachman claims they said.

And, the OMB said that Obamacare will help cut the deficit, the opposite of what Republicans are claiming.

The debt ceiling was raised 7 times under the Bush administration, with not a peep out of GOP.


Boehner said high corporate taxes and regulations are ruining the economy.
De-regulation brought us the economic collapse on Wall St, banking and real estate.

Corporations pay the lowest taxes in over 50 years. As a percentage of total federal income tax revenue, corporations pay 1/4 of what they paid in 1950

The rich are also paying the lowest effective taxes in 60 years.

The extremist Republican party is trying to dismantle every piece of positive environmental protection under the cover of deficit reduction.
What they are doing in this regard is nothing short of criminal.


Every major scientific organization in the world with any relevance to climate change agrees with the IPCC. 98% of scientists who actually do the research are in agreement.
While the worldwide scientific community is nearly unanimously in agreement on global warming, the GOP is nearly unanimously in denial.

The GOP is now a science free zone.

[sailrick]

Congressional Budget Office said last year that the stimulus increased the number of people employed by between 1.4 million and 3.3 million as of mid-2010.

It cut the unemployment rate between 0.7 and 1.8 percentage points, the CBO found.

[sailrick]

The GOP's ludicrous claim about their jobs bill

The 5 million figure cited by Paul, and echoed by other Republicans, is ludicrous. Even if one accepts the studies that came up with the figures, in most cases they indicate the GOP proposals would do little to create jobs in the near future.
FACT CHECKER -Wash Post