Obama: $4 Trillion Budget Replaces ‘Mindless Austerity’

Reporter II February 2, 2015

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In this Jan. 20, 2015, President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. The White House said Tuesday, Jan. 27, it is dropping a proposal to scale back the tax benefits of college savings plans amid a backlash from both Republicans and Democrats. Obama made the proposal as part of his State of the Union address. It was part of Obama's plan to consolidate and simplify a sometimes confusing array of tax breaks for college students. (AP Photo/Mandel Ngan, Pool)

In this March 4, 2014 file photo, copies of President Barack Obama's proposed fiscal 2015 budget are set out for distribution on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Congressional Budget Office says the federal budget deficit will shrink this year to its lowest level since President Barack Obama took office. CBO says the deficit will be $468 billion for the budget year that ends in September. Thats slightly less than last years $483 billion deficit. As a share of the economy, CBO says this years deficit will be slightly below the historical average of the past 50 years. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) — In this March 4, 2014 file photo, copies of President Barack Obama’s proposed fiscal 2015 budget are set out for distribution on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

David Jackson and Gregory Korte, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON (USA Today)—President Obama unveiled a nearly $4 trillion budget that is “designed to bring middle class economics into the 21st Century” through new programs to be financed by higher taxes on the wealthy.

While unlikely to pass the Republican Congress, the budget calls for new tax credits and other initiatives devoted to education, child care, paid leave, and infrastructure, with tax hikes resulting from the closure of certain loopholes.

The plan includes a $478 billion public works infrastructure program for roads, bridges, and transit systems, to be financed by taxes on overseas earnings. The president also wants to put an end to the automatic across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration.

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