
President Obama unveiled a 10-year budget blueprint Wednesday that calls for nearly $250 billion in new spending on jobs, public works and expanded pre-school education and nearly $800 billion in new taxes, including an extra 94 cents a pack on cigarettes.
“We don’t need an extreme, unbalanced budget that won’t balance in your lifetime or mine,†Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a floor speech before Obama’s Rose Garden announcement. “It looks like there’s less than $600 billion worth of reduction in there — and that’s over a decade — all of it coming from tax increases. In other words, it’s not a serious plan. For the most part, just another left-wing wish list.â€
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said in a statement he was “disappointed by the president’s proposal because it merely ratifies the status quo.†House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) said it was “overstuffed with spending and tax increases that will continue to hinder economic growth."
The budget proposes to spend $3.77 trillion in the fiscal year that starts in October, and projects a 2014 deficit of $744 billion, or 4.4 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. The budget gap would narrow steadily over the coming decade, shrinking to $439 billion in 2023, or 1.7 percent of GDP.
Washington Post