Obama Proposes a 2013 Budget Full of Fiscal Justice

With less than nine months to go until the presidential election, Barack Obama is about to send to Congress a 2013 budget full of fiscal justice. In the same vein of his speech on the State of the Union, Obama is advocating for increased taxation of the richest citizens in order to reconstruct the American economy on healthy foundations, at a time when a recovery of the employment market offers hope of an upturn after the 2007-09 recession. Before Congress on Jan. 24, he hoped for the re-establishment of an economy where “everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.”

This budget proposal, which strongly risks inciting hostility from the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, also applies to the continuation of agreements on the struggle against the deficit, passed by Congress members in 2011, with a drop in spending of $1 billion in six years.

In terms of income, it includes the principal measure hoped by Obama during his State of the Union address, the “Buffett Rule,” named for the American multibillionaire Warren Buffett, who wishes that income levels higher than $1 million per year would not be subjected to an income tax less than 30 percent.

The president also wishes to let expire the tax gifts for the richest, consented to by his Republican predecessor George W. Bush in 2001 and 2003, to make $360 billion in cuts in social spending, and to cut military spending by 5 percent relative to the current annual budget, conforming to a plan already enacted by the Pentagon.

By eliminating niches in favor of oil, gas and coal groups, the budgetary plan sees $41 billion in supplemental tax returns in 10 years. It anticipates calling out banks on their responsibility in the financial crisis of 2008, by an extraordinary levy expected to be $61 billion, also over 10 years. But this proposal is already two years old and was never examined by Congress, even during the era when Obama’s allies were in majority there.

Spending aside, the budget proposal anticipates more than $350 billion to stimulate employment and $476 billion for infrastructure. It will envision a deficit of $901 billion for the 2013 fiscal year, which begins October 1, one month before the presidential election during which Obama will put his mandate into play. This sum represents 5.5 percent of the gross national product of the United States.

At the same time, the White House has again increased its deficit plans for the current fiscal year, which will attain $1,330 billion, thus 8.5 percent of the GDP, according to them. At the beginning of September, it was still hoping to contain it to $956 billion, 6.1 percent of the GDP.

While presenting these facts Friday, Feb. 10, the White House refused to give estimations of growth and unemployment, the facts which could largely influence the balances. These estimations could bring to light the recovery of unemployment apparently more vigorous than anticipated: The official unemployment rate has fallen to 8.3 percent of the active population in January, a drop of .4 points in two months, but still far from the level at the beginning of 2008, 5 percent.

Obama has planned to present his budget to the American people Monday, Feb. 13 while traveling to Annandale, in northern Virginia, not far from Washington.