Obama sought to send the message that his goals were tax fairness and equal opportunity.
“We can settle for a country where a few people do really, really well, and everybody else struggles to get by. Or we can restore an economy where everybody gets a fair shot, everybody does their fair share, everybody plays by the same set of rules - from Washington to Wall Street to Main Street,’’ Obama said in a campaign-style speech laying out his plan at Northern Virginia Community College. The backdrop was chosen to highlight an $8 billion jobs training proposal between businesses and community colleges.
Republicans pounced on the fiscal 2013 budget plan, saying Obama failed to deliver on his promise to cut the national deficit in half by the end of his first term.
“The president offered a collection of rehashes, gimmicks, and tax increases that will make our economy worse,’’ said House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio.
Budget talks are expected to start this month in the Republican-held House, but many of the president’s proposals, particularly the tax increases, stand little chance of overcoming partisan opposition. Obama asserts $4 trillion would be trimmed from projected deficits over 10 years, including $1 trillion in cuts that Congress and the president agreed to in a deal last summer.
The tone of Obama’s budget message was buoyant compared to last year, when his deficit-focused plan called for slashing several social programs. And it signals his shift back toward short-term ways to keep the economy growing.
“You don’t roll out austerity budgets in an election year,’’ said Larry J. Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. “Since the president knows his budget is not going to pass, it frees him up to do exactly what he needs to do in order to get reelected: please the Democratic base and defer budgetary pain for key segments of the population.’’
