So what do you think? Is this a good plan? Is this Obama's last effort before the elections in November? Will this hurt or help Obama?
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
“This is the defining issue of our time.”
On Tuesday, President Obama proposed his final budget request. In it, he requested $350 billion in stimulus money. He said that he would use this money to keep lower payroll taxes, help manufacturing at home, employ more teachers and bring jobs back to America from countries like China and India. In his proposal, he also included raising $2 trillion by letting the Bush-era tax breaks to the rich run out for people who earn over $250,000 a year. Although this said plan will raise the deficit and cause it to stay at about $600 billion for about ten years, Obama promises that it will also save $4 billion. He expressed that "this is the defining issue of our time." Many Republicans oppose this plan as they believe that it will get America into more debt. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan from Wisconsin expressed that "Instead of an America built to last, this is a plan for an America drowning in debt."
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4 comments:
I think it will probably hurt Obama because as you said its strongly opposed by the Republicans. On the other hand, it is at least making an effort to save money and actually have Washington do something. While the stimulus will hurt the deficit in the short term, maybe running out the tax breaks will produce enough revenue. Personally, I think that if its bringing in jobs its probably worth it.
Obama’s theme for this year is fairness which to me seems a little ideological on his part. We have seen the rich grow wealthier while the poor remained relatively the same. Obama’s plan seems to be rational enough and can possibly help our plunged economy. I agree that we must transform our borrowing and spending into innovation and rebuilding. America needs to make tough decisions now in order to get past this recession.
The budget proposal seems predictable to me since most of it we have seen before. It irritates me how the republicans complain and rant about the deficit when no one in congress has come up with a real plan to mend it. When it comes to reductions to military spending, I agree that we should walk away from the war that went to long, but I question what the government will do when the soldiers come back and see that there are no jobs for them. Finally, I seriously doubt that the republicans will let Obama produce significant higher taxes at the top; they would never allow this.
I agree with Katherine: it is unlikely that the Republicans in Congress will support this, especially in an election year as they try to attack Obama's policies. I like what Obama is trying to do, but I have a hard time seeing Congress, espcially its Republican members, to be eager to give more stimulus money to Obama, after they bash him for the 2008 stimulus package. While I do applaud Obama for his willingness to propose something, I am skeptical that this plan will be fully implemented.
I agree with Katherine as well. It does seem ridiculous that Republicans have been complaining about the deficit, but it seems no one has really made any plans to change it. I know that Obama's plan is not the most perfect and will not please everyone, but it's still a step in the right direction. Attempting to take action and solve the issue is better then sitting back and waiting for it to become a bigger problem. I think that by taking initiative, Obama is attempting to mend something. Even if his plan isn't completely successful, it's still better then doing absolutely nothing to rectify our current situation.
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