At Huffington Post, President Obama
provides a preview of the "blueprint for middle-class economics" budget he will propose Monday.
On Monday, I will present Congress with my budget, a plan for bringing middle-class economics into the 21st Century. First, I'm proposing we make the kinds of investments we need to continue to grow our economy and enhance our national security. We would establish new advanced manufacturing hubs, rebuild crumbling infrastructure, combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and lead a new age of precision medicine that uses cutting-edge science to find new treatments for diseases like diabetes and cancer. We would give working parents a chance to get ahead with guaranteed paid sick leave, and we'd give Americans of all ages a chance to earn new skills by making community college free for responsible students. And we should invest in a 21st century military to confront global challenges with strong and sustained American leadership. These proposals are pragmatic; they're the types of things both parties should be able to support.
But where Democrats and Republicans often disagree is in how to pay for these kinds of ideas. 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. My budget will build on that progress with reforms to health programs, our tax code, and our broken immigration system. It would eliminate the trust fund loophole that allows the wealthiest Americans to avoid paying taxes on their unearned income, and use the savings to cut taxes for middle class families. 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. […]
In order to get wages and incomes rising faster, we need to take the next step. That's why my Budget will fully reverse the sequestration cuts for domestic priorities in 2016. It will match those investments with equal dollar increases for defense funding. If Congress rejects my plan and refuses to undo these arbitrary cuts, it will threaten our economy and our military. 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. But if Congress joins me, we can make sure that ending sequestration is fully paid for by cutting inefficient spending and closing tax loopholes.
He will
provide more details of his proposed budget Thursday to House Democrats at their retreat in Philadelphia. As a reminder, sequestration was the outgrowth of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which cut spending by almost $1 trillion. A congressional Super Committee was also created under the law to try to nail down another $1.5 trillion in cuts with a built-in mechanism of across-the-board cuts—the sequester—that was to kick in if that committee failed. Which it did. While Republicans have cried foul over the defense cuts that have resulted from sequestration, they're not likely to welcome Obama's proposal to end it and for the nation to start spending again as if the deficit is shrinking, which of course it is. Not unless, they are sure to demand, Social Security gets put on the chopping block.
"Republicans believe there are smarter ways to cut spending than the sequester and have passed legislation to replace it multiple times, only to see the president continue to demand tax hikes," said Cory Fritz, a spokesman for Boehner. "Until he gets serious about solving our long-term spending problem it's hard to take him seriously."
"Long-term spending problem" is Republican code for cuts to Social Security and other social insurance programs. Republicans are
manufacturing a Social Security crisis now, one that needs to be met with an absolute refusal from Obama to play along.