How He Plans on Keeping America Alive
Middle-class economics. Obama's proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year centers around that very theme. For many years now, especially after the recession in 2007, we have been afraid to put the middle class at the center of our fiscal policy. And with a new Republican Congress, that goal of revitalizing our middle class only seemed further from reality. But now, there is, luckily, some semblance of hope.
Here is what the budget is not - a plan to cripple our nation's economy just as it is on the rise. It will not divest corporations of their profits and increase social welfare programs beyond our imaginations.
Instead, the budget takes a common-sense approach to reducing our deficit while maintaining social programs that everyday Americans and Georgians rely on. The President's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has worked to create a nuanced proposal involving the closing of loopholes and the strengthening of infrastructure and of necessary welfare programs -- all to help increase economic mobility and to bolster our economic revival.
With the economy on the rise Obama is seeking to end the Austerity Cuts imposed during the Great Recession with much of the increased spending focused on a real, robust infrastructure bill to help with our nations roads, bridges and transit systems. Our nation is built on the back of trade, and with much of our infrastructure in disarray, there isn't any money to be made if trucks aren't able to transport goods, people aren't able to vacation, or trains aren't able to freighter the resources needed to complete projects.
He also is proposing a plan for the government to pay for the first 2 years of college for American students so that at a minimum folks can have a technical degree, or associates degree in a world economy where a high school diploma is simply no longer enough to ensure you have a job that will bring or keep you in the middle class. Education is key in the coming future, and it's something I've always deemed necessary for the growth of the United States as a whole. Children shouldn't have to worry about paying for school. I believe that education should be free. Citizens have the right to become informed, and add to the collective knowledge and development of this great nation.
Of the many loopholes that the proposed budget would close, the tax on foreign holdings for multinational corporations and other restrictions on the wealthy have stirred up the most conflict. Bypassing the technical details, the budget ultimately finds a way to move the tax burden off the struggling middle class to the rich and the large corporations. By imposing a minimum tax on foreign profits and increasing the tax on capital gains, Congress can actually give the middle class tax cuts.
Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that presidential budget's rarely get implemented when creating the congressional budget, but there is still hope. When making a deal with anyone, you need to ask for everything you want, maybe even more than what you want, in order to get at least some of what you asked for. Using the same idea, the White House can pressure Congress to concede on key issues and hopefully turn the tide towards middle class economics as Obama promised in his State of the Union last month.
While analyzing the situation, it is important to realize that nearly all of the recovery since the recession has gone to the top one percent. We must re-evaluate our priorities when dealing with the situation. Do we want to ensure opportunity for every Georgian? And do we want to ensure the existence of the American Dream?
If so, we must move try to keep as much of this budget as possible so that we can bring prosperity and growth to America's shrinking middle class.
Reposted from State Senator Curt Thompson's blog (D-5th). He resides in Tucker, GA and is Chairman of the Special Judiciary Committee. Make sure to follow him on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus. His website is www.makingyourvoicecount.com
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