President Obama’s new 3.7 trillion budget promises to reduce deficit spending by $1.1 trillion over the next decade. His plan calls for deep spending cuts in domestic programs including heating subsidies for the poor, eliminating Pell grants for summer classes, and grants for airports and water-treatment plants. In addition to cuts, his plan calls for tax increases for married couples making more than $250,000. It’s not all about cuts however; Obama will make room for growth in education, infrastructure and clean energy. The President has vowed to reduce the deficit by half by the end of his first term, but Republicans in the House feel Obama’s efforts aren’t ambitious enough and are calling for more and deeper spending cuts. Some have criticized the President for neglecting to overhaul entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security, which account for close to 40 percent of the budget and are predicted to have a substantial impact on the deficit as baby boomers start to cash-in. Republicans are planning to cut spending by as much as $100 billion in the current fiscal year and they will be writing their own proposed budget for 2012. How far will the Republican budget proposal be from Obama’s and how much is either side going to be willing to compromise? Is this round 1 of many fights to come?
Guests:
Phil Mattingly, reporter, Bloomberg News
John Campbell, Republican Congressman from District 48, Orange County: Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel.
Scott Lilly, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; former staff director of House Appropriations Committee