WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, two years into a presidency marked by increased spending on a weak economy, is turning his attention to the nation's crushing debt and trying to counter a Republican anti-deficit plan with one of his own.
The president on Wednesday was to deliver a speech outlining his proposal to reduce spending in the biggest government benefits programs, raise taxes on the wealthy and cut defense costs. In a pre-emptive response Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called any proposed tax increase "a nonstarter."
This new clash, just a week after the president announced he would seek re-election, ensures that the nation's fiscal health will be at the center of the 2012 presidential campaign. For the past two months, Obama has been arguing to protect his core spending priorities, including education and innovation. His turn to deficit reduction reflects the pressures he faces in a divided Congress and with a public increasingly anxious about the nation's debt, now exceeding $14 trillion.
The president is wading into a potential political thicket. Liberals fear he will propose cuts in prized Democratic programs like Medicare and Medicaid, the health care programs for older adults, the disabled and the poor, and in Social Security. Moderates worry that his plan could unravel bipartisan deficit-cutting negotiations. And Republicans already are poised to reject any proposal that includes tax increases.
this article is taken from : http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110413/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_budget;_ylt=A0wNdO98VKVNsKcA6dys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNmdjc5NmNhBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwNDEzL3VzX29iYW1hX2J1ZGdldARjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA29iYW1hcGl2b3RzZQ--
This new clash, just a week after the president announced he would seek re-election, ensures that the nation's fiscal health will be at the center of the 2012 presidential campaign. For the past two months, Obama has been arguing to protect his core spending priorities, including education and innovation. His turn to deficit reduction reflects the pressures he faces in a divided Congress and with a public increasingly anxious about the nation's debt, now exceeding $14 trillion.
The president is wading into a potential political thicket. Liberals fear he will propose cuts in prized Democratic programs like Medicare and Medicaid, the health care programs for older adults, the disabled and the poor, and in Social Security. Moderates worry that his plan could unravel bipartisan deficit-cutting negotiations. And Republicans already are poised to reject any proposal that includes tax increases.
this article is taken from : http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110413/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_budget;_ylt=A0wNdO98VKVNsKcA6dys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNmdjc5NmNhBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwNDEzL3VzX29iYW1hX2J1ZGdldARjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA29iYW1hcGl2b3RzZQ--
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