The President, whoever that may be, releases a new budget ever year as does someone in the House from the opposing party. After some photo ops, partisan wrangling and accusations, both sides eventually reach an agreement, and the new budget is passed through the House of Representatives.
Some years are more painful than others.
This year’s budget is of note because the Federal Debt Ceiling limit has been reached.
Reducing the Deficit - The White House said the budget would reduce the deficit in the long-term by $3 trillion, largely due to $5.5 trillion in proposed taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations over the next 10 years.
Raising Revenue - It would restore the top marginal tax rate to 39.6%. The plan would also raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. The budget would raise more federal revenue by ending lucrative tax breaks for oil and gas companies, which would total $31 billion in savings, according to the White House. It also claims to save $19 billion by halting a special tax subsidy for real estate investors.
Billionaire Tax – The ‘billionaire’ tax would impose a 25% minimum income tax on the wealthiest 0.01% of Americans.
Medicare - Raising tax rates on people earning more than $400,000 a year would increase from 3.8% to 5% on earned and unearned income and will extend the Medicare fund for 25 more years.
Drug Cost - Capping the price of certain prescriptions at $2 per month for Medicare recipients, including generic drugs used to treat chronic conditions such as high cholesterol and hypertension, and by expanding Medicare’s ability to negotiate lowering the cost for prescription drugs will cut federal spending by $160 billion over a decade.
Families - Expanding the enhanced child tax credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child for children 6 and older and up to $3,600 for children under 6.
Defense Spending - The chief financial officer at the Department of Defense said the spending request for 2024 is larger than the $858 billion enacted in the 2023 fiscal year. Biden is requesting $842 billion.
Border Protection - The budget also allocates $25 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $535 million for border technology at and between ports of entry. It also includes funding to hire an additional 350 border agents.
About the writer: Matthew Woodruff is an Independent Journalist and Author who believes in Freely Accessible, Honest and Open Reporting. Visit at MattWoodruffAuthor.com.
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