A combative President Barack Obama warned on Saturday he was bracing for a fight against powerful lobbyists and special interests who sought to pick apart the $3.55 trillion budget he wants to advance his agenda of reform.
Obama’s spending blueprint, with its massive $1.17 trillion deficit and tax hikes on the wealthy, seeks to squeeze billions of dollars in savings out of current spending through competitive bidding among health insurers and ending subsidies and tax breaks for banks, agribusiness and oil companies.
“These steps won’t sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business,” the president said in his weekly radio address.
“I know they’re gearing up for a fight as we speak,” he said. “My message to them is this: So am I.”
Republicans, in their radio response, warned that Democratic spending priorities threaten to destroy the American dream that hard work can build a better life for each successive generation of citizens.
“This week, the president submitted to Congress the single largest increase in federal spending in the history of the United States, while driving the deficit to levels that were once thought impossible,” said Senator Richard Burr.
He said Obama’s budget commits the government to a billion dollars a day in interest on the debt over the next decade.
“Now, instead of working hard so our children can have a better life tomorrow, we are asking our children to work hard so that we don’t have to make tough choices today,” Burr said.
Obama said his budget blueprint delivered on the changes he promised in his election campaign: tax cuts for 95 percent of working Americans, a rollback in tax breaks for people making over $250,000, lower healthcare costs, education reform and an expansion in the use of clean, renewable energy.
The president said his budget also reflected the fact the United States faces a financial crisis, a costly recession and a trillion dollar deficit.
“Given this reality, we’ll have to be more vigilant than ever in eliminating the programs we don’t need in order to make room for the investments we do need,” he said.
He said a page-by-page examination of the federal budget had already identified $2 trillion in potential savings over 10 years.
“I realize that passing this budget won’t be easy,” Obama said. “Because it represents real and dramatic change, it also represents a threat to the status quo in Washington.”
The insurance industry would not like having to bid competitively to participate in the Medicare coverage program for the elderly, but it is needed to protect the program and reduce costs, Obama said.
He said banks and big student lenders would not like losing their taxpayer subsidies, but it would save nearly $50 billion and make college more affordable.
And he said oil and gas companies wouldn’t like losing $30 billion in tax breaks, but it was needed to fund renewable energy research.
“The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long, but I don’t. I work for the American people,” Obama said.
“I didn’t come here to do the same thing we’ve been doing or to take small steps forward, I came to provide the sweeping change that this country demanded when it went to the polls in November.”
(Source: Reuters)
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20 Responses
mr. president,
We are not interested in your radical change AKA socialism. This is the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA not the United Socialist States Of America!!
Please resign a take meshugina Joe Biden, Stretch Pelosi, & Dingy Harry Ried with you!
Cutting charitable contributions on the rich is a dumb idea and will probably not go through.
Cutting subsidies to the energy and agribusiness industries has been tried by most presidents and fails. If Obama pulls this off conservative might see it as a sign that he has superhuman powers.
Counting “savings” by withdrawal from Iraq over the next ten years is a joke since al Quaeda lost and the Iraqis already asked us to leave, and for all purposes we won. It would be as if Truman included “savings” from not fighting WWII in his 1946 budget.
The Pell grant changes and change in student loans will benefit our community (the aid formulas favor students from large families, and especially married students, and in many cases American yeshivos are considered institutions of higher education – unlike Israel which demeans yeshiva study).
Money for mass transit is good for frum Jews since most of us live in cities with viable mass transit. The health care reforms might help some people, but don’t seem to be very substantive (any “insurance” system hurts us since frum Jews are a very bad demographic from the insurance industry’s perspective).
The tax increases on the “rich” aren’t very severe. Given the incomes are falling due to the economic collapse, they won’t raise much revenue.
Depending on Wall Street for one’s parnassah means the amount of taxes you pay will be falling very rapidly, regardless of “bracket”.
Running a deficit that is on the level (as a percentage) of the deficits run during World War II is fiscal irresponsibility, but unless the depression-like conditions start easy, they can get away with for a while. With deflation, a collapse of consumption, and the rest of the world being worse off – it’s won’t hurt. Of course, the president can hope to leave the problem of the resulting inflation to the next president (and if the economy doesn’t improve, we’re talking about 2013).
I say that the President should keep fighting. He will make an absolute fool of himself and then the Republicans will be able to take back Congress in the midterm elections!
He is doing a good job. unlike the “flatbush bubbys”, most americans hold of what he is doing
sammyjoe, if you think he is doing a good job than no wonder our country is in such poor shape. With people such as yourself who can’t resist personal attacks on me, than we are in big trouble.
I am confused. I don’t know anymore who to believe. Obama? or the others. But taxing the ones who worked hard getting there and giving more breaks for people who never made it yet in life? does he think that people who earned 20k a year will suddenlly start making 250k? and really he is telling everyone not to make too much, cause he will tax you! and punish u!
It is evident that this president never ran a business and is unfamiliar with basic budgeting concepts. Look for 15% inflation. Thank you Mr. Obama
taxing the poor will not get you revenue.At least the rich have the money so tax them.Or,don’t raise taxes and get rid of all government help like Medicaid,food stamps,military,road repairs,etc.
One could devise a tax system in which those with low incomes (such as teachers, kollel students, housewives, unskilled and unemployed, etc.) were taxed heavily. There is a Biblical precedent for this. Unfortunately the advocates appeared to have really ticked off Ha-Shem, so it might not be a good idea.
While it is often said the taxation is a form of robbery, if one wants government programs to be funded, perhaps one should draw inspiration from the famous bank robber (private sector type, not the government type) who when asked why he robbed banks, replied “that is where the money is”. If we want government programs (aid to the poor, road, national defense, etc.), tax those with the most money (and even the Republicans agree that the rich should pay a disproportionate share of taxes – its only the details anyone argues over)
Unfortunately, we are dealing with an egomaniac, to whom lying is as natural as breathing. Anyone who can say there’s no “pork” in the “stimulus” bill (billions, literally, for Acorn and other communiity racketeers and agitators), who can say the Budget has no “pork”, who can rail against lobbyists and special interests when he has appointed many lobbyists and special-interest lackies to his administratipn (being paid for by OUR tax dollars), etc.,etc., and do this WITH A STRAIGHT FACE, is totally committed to shoving a Communist government down our throats. Organize now Tea Parties – like the Chicago Tea Party – to kill this budget. Phone, e-mail or text ALL your elected officials, even the local ones, so the groundswell of protest and active opposition will stop this would-be tyrant in his tracks.
He is drunk with imagined power, but when people start to desert him in droves, we must be prepared to send in substitutes with character and meaningful proposals – a full-court press.
I cannot resist attacking bubbys who are heartless right wingers and neocons. they dont care about the little guy, just the rich! your witless hero G W did a terrible job. Give obama a chance!
He lied about the “stimulus” bill, he lied about the integrity and ethics of his proposed appointees, he’s lying about his Budget proposal. There are millions of tax dollars of “pork” in every “stimulus” package and there are billions of tax dollars of “pork” in his Budget; his appointees are repeatdly failimg the ethics (and credibilty) test; but he talks loudly and makes claims all to the contrary.
How can anyone believe his outrageous lies, uttered in the face of bald facts?
To me, these are signs of an egomaniac. World history has shown us what happens when such people are not called to account for their blatant lying. Too bad the MSM cringes in the face of BHO’s propaganda machine, backed by the ruthless srong-arm tactics of his Hollywood sycophants and Chicago thug-politicos.
We need Tea Parties: check out 𐌀and take action from there.
This week 250k is “rich” but what about when he has to pay for his socialized healthcare disaster? Then it’ll be 100k, then 75k, then 50k, thne 35k, then everyone will be taxed out of the something to pay for socialism.
The 250k which he considers “rich” includes ALL small business owners who report their business income on their personal tax forms. This means almost everyone with a small business that is making any decent money is considered rich according to the messiah. To take it one step further this means that they now pay over 40% of the income to tax so now they cant afford to hire people and so on.
Despite what the messiah tells you TRICKLE DOWN WORKS and YOU CANNOT trickle up. Also, Govt CANNOT create jobs. Private people create jobs and its those jobs that have a chance to stay.
What he wants to do has NEVER worked! There is a reason why most socialised countries are either no longer or virtual has beens. In the USA, whenever there was an economic slowdown, the concept of bigger govt NEVER worked (hello there FDR!) but the idea of cutting taxes ALWAYS worked. Cutting taxes means WE THE PEOPLE have more money to spend (which we will like always!) and thus when we buy things there is money going for taxes etc.
Of course all the Obamanation kool aid drinkers out there would never even bother listening to this line of logic.
Does this mean that all those meaningless million dollar spending sprees the government pays for in the name of research will be cut? What will Reader’s Digest have to complain about?
#14 – a private business will optimize profits by continuing to expand as long as the marginal profit is increasing. While the payroll tax and the cost of health care raise the cost per employee, raising tax rates doesn’t. Indeed, it might give them more incentive to expand since they will need even more profits to maintain the owner’s income level.
One might argue that abolishing the payroll tax (pay for social security and medicare some other way, presumably with general revenue), and having healtgh care be government provided (funded by general revenue, not a per employee fee) would help business. However neither party appears to go this far.
Of course we could go back to the old system of people working until they drop dead, and of most people being unable to afford professional medical care, but no one seemed to like the idea 100 years ago (well there are more atheists today, and they probably have no qualms about it)
Also, remember the definition of “waste” in public spending: supporting a program that doesn’t benefit me.
And to the person who predicted 15% inflation – remember that right now we are facing deflation, which if you study the history of the early 1930s IS WORSE. Ending inflation is very easy (stop printing money), it isn’t clear how easy it is to end deflation.
Sammyjoe just doesn’t get it. He is on the side that says to give Obama a chance. He swallowed hook line & sinkee the left wing bashing of President Bush since he beat Tree Hugger in 2000 & then John F Student Kerry in 04. History WILL show that he did a pretty good job all things considered. However history NEVER shows too much good on anyone who raised taxes & has tried taking the country far left like our current president is trying to do.
We have given him a chance as you call it but we don’t like what we are seeing & until the liberal egos pass a law taking away more of our first ammendent rights we can criticize when we want. Sort off like you guys railed on President Bush for all those years without cause….. just because he beat your sweethearts in the elections.
Why won’t you admit that the economy was pretty good once he got us out of the Clinton Recession & again after 9/11 when almost everyone was saying the economy would tank. His plans derech ha’teva (more like His plans of course) worked for most of previous 8 years until Queen Barney’s FreddyFanny house of cards came falling down. Of course I have to mention that The Obama was part of that afterall he believes owning a home is a RIGHT as opposed to a PRIVILEGE.
What are you going to say when he makes YOU take money out of your pocket (if you have any left at that time) to pay the shchoyrim for slavery which ended 150 years ago?!?! That’s coming too.
Mark Levin: there was a SURPLUS when clinton was in office, then we fell back into deficit spending under the rule of the non president (didnt really win 1st time around) G W or plain “W”. Now we are in the “Bush depression” he was pres for 8 years! now look what happened! now we have a pres for only a month and somehow the depression of 09 is his! Are you all there?
Sammyjoe,
Mixing up the facts on purpose. There MAY have been a small surplus under cliton however what you say about GW is SIMPLY not true. Besides, GW had to fight a war which uses money! Clinton’s ‘surplus’ happened after Mr. Newt and his boys put some reins on Mr. Clinton.
Unfortunalty some of the Republicans lost their way and started acting like Democrats (spending and spending). Any sane Conservative would tell you that they wish Prez GW would have vetoed more spending bills. Alas he also thought he could “get along” which was a bunch of trash! A lib is a lib is a lib and they werent interested which you as a lib fall in line with that.
So you havent gotten over the fact that President Bush WON the election in 2000 and AGAIN in 2004?? I would suggest checking in someplace where you could get it out of your system before you give yourself an ulcer.
BTW, when Queen Barney Frank was asked about The Obamanation’s Socialist stance he repsponded, “I think it’s what people voted for. There was no secret that this was going to happen. John McCain kept predicting that if Obama won, this would happen, and I think Obama felt an obligation to make an honest man out of John McCain — or to keep him honest. One John’s always been pretty honest. Of course the private sector is the engine to create wealth.”
Finally re the “Bush depression” as you call it, I will beg to differ because the market tanked and continues to tank since the polls started showing Obama ahead. Everytime he opens his uh uh uh mouth, the market tanks even more. The dow has lost 3000 points since your messiah was elected and almost 50% of its overall value since it started looking like he would win the election. It was interesting watching the Dow back then… (WHAT A SHOCK!) when McCain was doing better in the polls, the market was up but when Obama was doing better the market was down. At least they also saw he had no idea other than socialism.
Bottom line is, we are in major trouble as a country with Obama The Community Agitator Street Thug in office.
Sammyjoe, I suggest that you read the ’04? edition of Irrational Exuberence by Robert Shiller of Yale. It will give you some new insight into this wconomic downturn. You’re better off not getting your economics info from a politician or talk radio host of any persuasion as they are generally going to twist anything to advance their agenda.
mark levin: spending for a unecessary war! and like you said the R party spent like drunken sailors b/c they were drunk with power.