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(Photo: frankieleon/flickr/cc)
A Budget Plan for the People
The President’s populist budget will leave Republicans scrambling to explain why they don’t support it.
Feb 03, 2015
What do you need to know about the 2016 budget plan President Obama released this week? Mostly that it benefits ordinary Americans and pays for it by taxing the rich.
It's a long wish list (150-pages) but here are a few highlights:
- This is a $4 trillion budget plan packed with all sorts of things for middle-class and poor families.
- One of the big items on the wish list is a $478 billion public works infrastructure program for roads, bridges, and transit.
- Working families are a big winner as it calls for increased spending on paid leave, universal preschool, and public education.
- Another boon for families: new tax credit for working spouses and tripling of maximum child care tax credit.
If working families are the big winners here, who are the losers? The rich. Big banks. Corporations (especially when they hoard profits overseas).
Here are a few ways the rich would pay for this budget:
- Tax increases for the wealthiest (estate tax & capital gains taxes)
- Taxes on corporate profits that are held overseas.
- Fees on big banks that are overly risky.
Obama's plan is a populist political agenda very much aligned with his recent State of the Union speech. It's ambitious and bold and will leave many Republicans scrambling to explain why they don't support it.
The plan is more than just a symbolic wish list. It's a way to define and shape the debate. Aiming so clearly to lift up working families, reduce income inequality, and pay for it by taxing the rich, this agenda comes at a time when most Americans think a little wealth redistribution sounds great. Of course, Republicans have already come out strongly against it. But the Obama administration just may be betting correctly that the people will be on the President's side.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
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Marjorie Elizabeth Wood
Marjorie Elizabeth ("Betsy") Wood serves as Economic Policy Associate and Managing Editor of Inequality.org at the Institute for Policy Studies.
What do you need to know about the 2016 budget plan President Obama released this week? Mostly that it benefits ordinary Americans and pays for it by taxing the rich.
It's a long wish list (150-pages) but here are a few highlights:
- This is a $4 trillion budget plan packed with all sorts of things for middle-class and poor families.
- One of the big items on the wish list is a $478 billion public works infrastructure program for roads, bridges, and transit.
- Working families are a big winner as it calls for increased spending on paid leave, universal preschool, and public education.
- Another boon for families: new tax credit for working spouses and tripling of maximum child care tax credit.
If working families are the big winners here, who are the losers? The rich. Big banks. Corporations (especially when they hoard profits overseas).
Here are a few ways the rich would pay for this budget:
- Tax increases for the wealthiest (estate tax & capital gains taxes)
- Taxes on corporate profits that are held overseas.
- Fees on big banks that are overly risky.
Obama's plan is a populist political agenda very much aligned with his recent State of the Union speech. It's ambitious and bold and will leave many Republicans scrambling to explain why they don't support it.
The plan is more than just a symbolic wish list. It's a way to define and shape the debate. Aiming so clearly to lift up working families, reduce income inequality, and pay for it by taxing the rich, this agenda comes at a time when most Americans think a little wealth redistribution sounds great. Of course, Republicans have already come out strongly against it. But the Obama administration just may be betting correctly that the people will be on the President's side.
Marjorie Elizabeth Wood
Marjorie Elizabeth ("Betsy") Wood serves as Economic Policy Associate and Managing Editor of Inequality.org at the Institute for Policy Studies.
What do you need to know about the 2016 budget plan President Obama released this week? Mostly that it benefits ordinary Americans and pays for it by taxing the rich.
It's a long wish list (150-pages) but here are a few highlights:
- This is a $4 trillion budget plan packed with all sorts of things for middle-class and poor families.
- One of the big items on the wish list is a $478 billion public works infrastructure program for roads, bridges, and transit.
- Working families are a big winner as it calls for increased spending on paid leave, universal preschool, and public education.
- Another boon for families: new tax credit for working spouses and tripling of maximum child care tax credit.
If working families are the big winners here, who are the losers? The rich. Big banks. Corporations (especially when they hoard profits overseas).
Here are a few ways the rich would pay for this budget:
- Tax increases for the wealthiest (estate tax & capital gains taxes)
- Taxes on corporate profits that are held overseas.
- Fees on big banks that are overly risky.
Obama's plan is a populist political agenda very much aligned with his recent State of the Union speech. It's ambitious and bold and will leave many Republicans scrambling to explain why they don't support it.
The plan is more than just a symbolic wish list. It's a way to define and shape the debate. Aiming so clearly to lift up working families, reduce income inequality, and pay for it by taxing the rich, this agenda comes at a time when most Americans think a little wealth redistribution sounds great. Of course, Republicans have already come out strongly against it. But the Obama administration just may be betting correctly that the people will be on the President's side.
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