The Congressional leadership's budget released in response to President Obama's proposal in January is just like last year's "Path to Prosperity" drafted by then House Budget Committee Chair, Paul Ryan (R-WI). The only difference between the two budgets is the author, this year's budget Chairman Tom Price (R-GA). $4 trillion in tax dollars are at stake. As a result, we can expect a conflict of titanic proportions between congressional Republicans and the President's allies before and after the April 15 completion deadline.
Whether we provide jobs, health care, food, and education--or instead, tax breaks for the rich and corporate deregulation--has enormous consequences for Detroit. 67 percent--two thirds--of Detroit families are under the poverty line or can't afford basic needs, according to United Way. Senator Charles Schumer and Senate Democrats held a news conference March 12 "to urge Republicans to roll back harmful cuts that hurt the middle class." Marge Robinson's February 25 article in the Chronicle calling for a new "Freedom Budget" is on the mark, but the reality of politics will interfere.
The Republican budget--that cuts programs for everyone except the top 1%--would be detrimental to all the progress made by President Obama since the 2008 recession. There have been 60 straight months of private sector job growth--12 million jobs. The unemployment rate has dropped from 10% in 2009 to 5.5%. The deficit has been reduced from 10% of our GDP to 3% in five years. 14 million previously uninsured Americans now have health coverage.
The President's proposed 2016 budget would keep the progress going. It cuts taxes for the middle class and raises them for the wealthy and big business, sets money aside for infrastructure and job growth, and continues to fund Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Senator Schumer (D-NY) said, "If the GOP takes this (President's) budget and sticks it in a drawer, they'll be making it crystal clear that they're more interested in helping special interests than middle class families."
Even though the President has no authority over the budget resolution, he does have the ability to veto spending appropriations that come after it, one by one, to force improvements. A budget means nothing until dollars are spent. He will telegraph his position to Congress with written and verbal presidential statements.
Republicans are using the deficit to justify more cuts, but Ryan's proposals to amend the tax code will add nearly 100 billion to the deficit, all in unfunded tax cuts to the wealthy and large businesses. Obama has already cut the deficit by two thirds, so Ryan is abusing that progress for rich contributors instead of helping widespread jobs and economic progress. Listen carefully to "cut the deficit"--it means "except for your friends."
Now chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee with tax jurisdiction, Ryan plans "tax reform" by consolidating seven tax brackets into one, and reducing the corporate tax to "a fair and simple" tax code. That "flatter" tax means the poor pay more.
He also keeps the fear assault going against Social Security. He purports, "The trust fund is not a real savings account." He says it comes from "dubious government accounting." Tell that to the seniors who paid in. The fund has a surplus of 2.7 trillion and even after 2033 can pay 75% of benefits, which congress could then fix in a flash with a third of our cost of the Iraq war until Obama brought troops home. Over half of America's elderly would be in poverty without Social Security.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
2
1
1
