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Highlights from Biden's $6 trillion budget proposal: Lots of spending, taxing the rich

Highlights from Biden's $6 trillion budget proposal: Lots of spending, taxing the rich
I'm here today at Tidewater Community College to talk about America's family plan and I announced last week once in a generation investment in our families and our Children. That address is what people care most about and most need the investment. We need to win the competition, competition with other nations in the future because we're in a race, we're gonna race. It all starts with access to good education as you all know. But the rest of the world is caught up to us. The restaurant is caught up to us. They're not, waiting In 12 years is no longer enough to compete with the world in the 21st century And lead the 21st century. That's why my american Families plan guarantees four additional years of public education for every person in America, starting as early as we can. I think it's about time we start giving tax breaks and tax credits to working class families and middle class families instead of just the very wealthy. And here's what the american family plan doesn't do. It doesn't add a single penny to our deficit. It's paid for by making sure corporate America and the wealthiest one just pay their fair share. I don't want to punish anybody, but everybody should chip in. Everybody should pay something along the road here, the choices about who the economy serves. And so I plan on giving tax breaks to the working class folks and making everybody pay their fair share. So for folks at home, I'd like to ask a question, do we want to give the wealthiest people in America another tax cut? What do you want to give every high school graduate the ability to earn a community college degree on their way to good paying jobs or on the way to four years of school in the industries of the future? Again, it's a choice. It's more important to shield millionaires from paying their fair share. Or is it more important that every child gets a real opportunity to succeed from an early age and ease the burden on working families?
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Highlights from Biden's $6 trillion budget proposal: Lots of spending, taxing the rich
Related video above from earlier this month: Biden pushes tax hikes to fund education proposalsPresident Joe Biden's $6 trillion budget proposal offers major new initiatives like child and elder care subsidies, generous tax credits for families and the working poor, and free community college. It also promises politically freighted tax increases on the wealthy and corporations and would give domestic Cabinet departments significantly bigger budget increases than the Pentagon.But like all presidential budget plans, Biden's proposal needs the approval of lawmakers, who can change the allotments and dollar figures. Biden has already described, in general terms, major plans on infrastructure and he won a big victory on COVID-19 relief earlier this year. Friday’s rollout incorporates those costs into the government’s budget framework, including Social Security and Medicare, providing a fuller view of the administration’s fiscal posture.The administration sees a $1.8 trillion deficit next year and steadily accumulating federal debt that has topped $28 trillion after well over $5 trillion in already approved COVID-19 relief. As a result, the government must borrow roughly 50 cents of every dollar it spends this year and next.With the deficit's growth largely unchecked, Biden would use proposed tax hikes on businesses and high-earning people to power huge new social programs like universal prekindergarten, large subsidies for child care and guaranteed paid leave.“The best way to grow our economy is not from the top down, but from the bottom up and the middle out,” Biden said in his budget message. “Our prosperity comes from the people who get up every day, work hard, raise their family, pay their taxes, serve their Nation, and volunteer in their communities.”The budget incorporates the administration’s eight-year, $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal and its $1.8 trillion American Families Plan and adds details on his $1.5 trillion request for annual operating expenditures for the Pentagon and domestic agencies.Here are some other things to keep in mind about Biden's budget: LOTS OF SPENDINGThis year's $6 trillion spending total — fueled by ongoing COVID-19 relief efforts — is actually down from a projection of $7.2 trillion for the budget year ending in September. But it's sharply higher than the pre-pandemic $4.4 trillion tally of 2019 and fueled by promises of government help for crushing child care, college, health care and elder care costs. But the nation's huge defense budget would get minimal increases, angering Republicans whose votes Biden needs.___TAXING BUSINESS AND THE RICH Biden promises $2 trillion in corporate tax hikes, including an increase from 21% to 28% in the corporate rate and restoring the top individual tax bracket from 37% to 39.6%. Capital gains taxes would increase for wealthier investors, and inherited capital gains would no longer be tax-free. It would extend Democrats' generous increase in the per-child tax credit from $2,000 to $3,600 for children up to 6 years old and $3,000 for older children. It would also crack down on unpaid taxes by boosting reporting and enforcement.___BARRELS OF RED INKSeveral rounds of pandemic relief swelled last year's deficit to $3.1 trillion, and the U.S. is on track for a $3.7 trillion deficit this year, which means a total national debt exceeding $30 trillion within a few months. While deficits would be cut roughly in half, to $1.8 trillion, in the budget year starting in October, they would remain well above levels that mainstream economists have believed to be sustainable. Annual interest payments on all of that Treasury borrowing would almost double in the next five years from about $300 billion now to $581 billion in 2027.___IFFY PROSPECTS IN CONGRESSDemocrats control Congress by the narrowest of margins and could theoretically pass Biden's tax increases and many of his bold spending plans under special budget rules that prevent a GOP Senate filibuster. But it only takes a single Democratic defection to mess things up, and there's ample resistance to Biden's full corporate tax increase and higher taxes on capital gains. Smaller tax increases would mean Democrats would have to scale back their ambitions on spending. And Senate Republicans are sure to bring Biden's high-flying hopes for annual nondefense appropriations back to Earth by insisting on spending increases for the Pentagon that are comparable to domestic agencies.___CAUTIOUS ECONOMIC PROJECTIONSSome of Biden's predecessors, including former President Donald Trump, were guilty of juicing economic projections to make their budget numbers work. But the Biden team appears more cautious, projecting long-term economic growth of about 2% after a 5.2% boost this year and a 3.2% increase in 2022. Consumer prices, which are currently spiking, are seen as remaining in check, at about 2% inflation each year.

Related video above from earlier this month: Biden pushes tax hikes to fund education proposals

President Joe Biden's $6 trillion budget proposal offers major new initiatives like child and elder care subsidies, generous tax credits for families and the working poor, and free community college. It also promises politically freighted tax increases on the wealthy and corporations and would give domestic Cabinet departments significantly bigger budget increases than the Pentagon.

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But like all presidential budget plans, Biden's proposal needs the approval of lawmakers, who can change the allotments and dollar figures.

Biden has already described, in general terms, major plans on infrastructure and he won a big victory on COVID-19 relief earlier this year. Friday’s rollout incorporates those costs into the government’s budget framework, including Social Security and Medicare, providing a fuller view of the administration’s fiscal posture.

The administration sees a $1.8 trillion deficit next year and steadily accumulating federal debt that has topped $28 trillion after well over $5 trillion in already approved COVID-19 relief. As a result, the government must borrow roughly 50 cents of every dollar it spends this year and next.

With the deficit's growth largely unchecked, Biden would use proposed tax hikes on businesses and high-earning people to power huge new social programs like universal prekindergarten, large subsidies for child care and guaranteed paid leave.

“The best way to grow our economy is not from the top down, but from the bottom up and the middle out,” Biden said in his budget message. “Our prosperity comes from the people who get up every day, work hard, raise their family, pay their taxes, serve their Nation, and volunteer in their communities.”

The budget incorporates the administration’s eight-year, $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal and its $1.8 trillion American Families Plan and adds details on his $1.5 trillion request for annual operating expenditures for the Pentagon and domestic agencies.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Cuyahoga Community College Metropolitan Campus, Thursday, May 27, 2021, in Cleveland.
Evan Vucci / AP Photo
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Cuyahoga Community College Metropolitan Campus, Thursday, May 27, 2021, in Cleveland.

Here are some other things to keep in mind about Biden's budget:


LOTS OF SPENDING

This year's $6 trillion spending total — fueled by ongoing COVID-19 relief efforts — is actually down from a projection of $7.2 trillion for the budget year ending in September. But it's sharply higher than the pre-pandemic $4.4 trillion tally of 2019 and fueled by promises of government help for crushing child care, college, health care and elder care costs. But the nation's huge defense budget would get minimal increases, angering Republicans whose votes Biden needs.

___

TAXING BUSINESS AND THE RICH

Biden promises $2 trillion in corporate tax hikes, including an increase from 21% to 28% in the corporate rate and restoring the top individual tax bracket from 37% to 39.6%. Capital gains taxes would increase for wealthier investors, and inherited capital gains would no longer be tax-free. It would extend Democrats' generous increase in the per-child tax credit from $2,000 to $3,600 for children up to 6 years old and $3,000 for older children. It would also crack down on unpaid taxes by boosting reporting and enforcement.

___

BARRELS OF RED INK

Several rounds of pandemic relief swelled last year's deficit to $3.1 trillion, and the U.S. is on track for a $3.7 trillion deficit this year, which means a total national debt exceeding $30 trillion within a few months. While deficits would be cut roughly in half, to $1.8 trillion, in the budget year starting in October, they would remain well above levels that mainstream economists have believed to be sustainable. Annual interest payments on all of that Treasury borrowing would almost double in the next five years from about $300 billion now to $581 billion in 2027.

___

IFFY PROSPECTS IN CONGRESS

Democrats control Congress by the narrowest of margins and could theoretically pass Biden's tax increases and many of his bold spending plans under special budget rules that prevent a GOP Senate filibuster. But it only takes a single Democratic defection to mess things up, and there's ample resistance to Biden's full corporate tax increase and higher taxes on capital gains. Smaller tax increases would mean Democrats would have to scale back their ambitions on spending. And Senate Republicans are sure to bring Biden's high-flying hopes for annual nondefense appropriations back to Earth by insisting on spending increases for the Pentagon that are comparable to domestic agencies.

___

CAUTIOUS ECONOMIC PROJECTIONS

Some of Biden's predecessors, including former President Donald Trump, were guilty of juicing economic projections to make their budget numbers work. But the Biden team appears more cautious, projecting long-term economic growth of about 2% after a 5.2% boost this year and a 3.2% increase in 2022. Consumer prices, which are currently spiking, are seen as remaining in check, at about 2% inflation each year.