On Feb. 26, President Obama delivered an ambitious $3.6 trillion budget that would “finance vast new investments in health care, energy independence and education by raising taxes on the oil and gas industry, hedge fund managers, multinational corporations and nearly 3 million of the nation’s top earners.” Obama acknowledged that the proposal would “add to our deficits in the short term to provide immediate relief to families and get our economy moving,” but he said that these investments had been put off for too long and could not face more delays. Republicans immediately attacked the plan. “The era of big government is back, and Democrats are asking you to pay for it,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH). “The administration’s plan, I think, is a job killer, plain and simple.” When a recent National Journal poll asked how Congress should “respond to the recent deficit projections,” zero percent of Republican lawmakers said that Congress should pass “something close to President Obama’s budget.” So what is their alternative? As the AP summarized, it’s “a glossy pamphlet short on detail and long on campaign-style talking points.”

From The Progress Report