(RoyalPatriot.com )- The national deficit may not be the most pressing topic in Washington nowadays, but that doesn’t mean President Joe Biden hasn’t come up with an idea of his own on how to solve it.
His fix is to tax the rich.
Axios reported recently that Biden has plans to make a big reduction in the deficit one of the central parts of his budget in 2024, and he also is aiming to pressure Republican members of Congress to focus on increasing government revenue, rather than just focusing on how much money it’s spending.
Axios wrote:
“The White House is seeking a tactical advantage in its looming showdown with congressional Republicans on the debt limit – and wants to test Republicans’ commitment to lowering annual deficits over the next decade.”
That, in a way, was making reference to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has called for the “elimination” of all budget deficits as part of the upcoming talks that will be focused on the debt ceiling.
The proposal that Biden intends to put forth, according to Axios, would increase taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals. At the same time, the Biden administration is going to try to claim that its Inflation Reduction Act – passed through the Senate using budget reconciliation – has resulted in a reduction of the deficit of $238 million.
Biden also has plans to “slow the rate of growth” for some federal programs.
During his State of the Union address last week, Biden said:
“Instead of cutting the number of audits of wealthy taxpayers, I signed a law that will reduce the deficit by $114 billion by cracking down on wealthy tax cheats. In the last two years, my administration cut the deficit by more than $1.7 trillion – the largest deficit reduction in American history.”
While technically true, Biden’s claims about deficit reduction during his administration are more about federal aid from the COVID-19 pandemic expiring than anything that his administration actually did to take action.
Biden promised during the SOTU speech that he would put forth his new “fiscal plan” in March, saying it “will lower the deficit by $2 trillion,” even though it won’t result in cutting either Medicare or Social Security.
Media outlet The Hill said that Biden plans to introduce his proposed budget on March 9. Then, he’s expected to ask Republican leaders in the House to also submit their version of the budget, so that voters would be able to compare both of the plans.
It’s something that could ultimately work in his favor – or backfire tremendously.
Presidents ultimately aren’t responsible for creating and passing federal budgets; that’s the job of the Congress. However, presidents do get to weigh in on the matter, as any law that passes through the legislative branch must by signed by the president in the executive branch in order for it to become law.
Instead, a budget that the president releases usually just serves as a guideline and wish list that tells Congress what the White House is thinking and would ultimately sign off on.
