Politics
Obama Term II: President to stand his ground on fiscal debates
During negotiations last month aimed at avoiding a combination of spending cuts and tax increases, Obama presented Boehner with a proposal that would have reduced spending on Medicare and other entitlement programs by $400 billion; reduced non-entitlement programs by US$200 billion over 10 years; and lowered cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients and other beneficiaries of government programs.
But Obama also wanted some increased spending and still wants more tax revenue through changes in the tax code that would force the rich to pay more, proposals Republicans reject.
Even an ally like Bernstein pointed out that when it comes to spending outside of defense and entitlements, Obama has an incompatible goal of reducing the budget as a share of the economy to the lowest levels since President Dwight Eisenhower’s administration.
“It is very hard for me to square those tight budget constraints on the non-defense discretionary side of the budget and many of the aspirations I heard today,” Bernstein said. “That said, I think they are exactly the right aspirations.”
And there was little about finding common ground in Obama’s speech.
“We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate,” he said.
It was not meant as a self-critique.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press
