Politics
Obama: $4 Trillion Budget Replaces ‘Mindless Austerity’
In this March 4, 2014 file photo, copies of President Barack Obama’s proposed fiscal 2015 budget are set out for distribution on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
David Jackson and Gregory Korte, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON (USA Today)—President Obama unveiled a nearly $4 trillion budget that is “designed to bring middle class economics into the 21st Century” through new programs to be financed by higher taxes on the wealthy.
While unlikely to pass the Republican Congress, the budget calls for new tax credits and other initiatives devoted to education, child care, paid leave, and infrastructure, with tax hikes resulting from the closure of certain loopholes.
The plan includes a $478 billion public works infrastructure program for roads, bridges, and transit systems, to be financed by taxes on overseas earnings. The president also wants to put an end to the automatic across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration.
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