The President will unfold his plan in Philadelphia. Some measures have very little chance of being passed because the Democrats no longer have a majority in Congress.
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 09/03/2023 at 18:50, updated 09/03/2023 at 19:46
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Joe Biden has already distilled some budget proposals. JONATHAN ERNST / Portal
Social promises and taxes for the rich: Joe Biden presents a budget on Thursday that looks like a campaign program for 2024, but whose strongest measures have little or no chance of passing the barrier of Congress. In this exercise, which is as sober as possible, as in the presentation of the budget, the American President is hoping for additional political impetus.
The 80-year-old Democrat, who officially only “intends” to run again in 2024 but appears to be already campaigning, will lay out his plan in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an election-strategic state. “My budget will ask the rich to pay their fair share so the millions of workers who helped build that wealth can retire with the health insurance they paid for,” the president tweeted Wednesday night.
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Joe Biden has already distilled some budget proposals with little illusion about his ability to execute them. As of the beginning of the year, he controls only the Senate, with the other chamber of Congress (the House of Representatives) now dominated by Republicans determined not to pass a tax hike.
” ALSO READ – Joe Biden castigates Republicans trying to ‘minimize’ attack on Capitol.
Provide Another 25 Years of Medicare
However, as the White House has already revealed, Joe Biden’s proposed budget will only last on the condition that it will increase the tax burden on the wealthiest, who he says will have to pay “their fair share”. “No billionaire should pay less tax than a firefighter!” he said on Monday. The Democrat therefore intends to get the “rich and (the) big companies to pay more taxes while eliminating unnecessary spending” in favor of the pharma and oil giants.
With this additional income, Joe Biden estimates that, as he promised on Wednesday, he will be able to continue funding medical insurance for Americans over 65, called Medicare, for another 25 years without affecting benefits. But federal officials’ salaries will also increase by more than 5%, says the Washington Post. All of this, the White House said Thursday, by reducing the federal deficit by “nearly $3 trillion over the next decade,” while Republicans regularly accuse the president of missing out on spending. “A household reflects our values,” Joe Biden tweeted Thursday.
It is also a political weapon in this case. The Democrat’s proposals are trying to embarrass the Republican Party, which is calling for more fiscal discipline but hasn’t yet spelled out exactly what spending cuts it intended. Joe Biden therefore likes to accuse the law of wanting to undermine social plans like Medicare – which the conservatives are fighting back against.
” ALSO READ – Joe Biden wants to reduce United States deficit by “nearly $3 trillion” in 10 years
An increasingly politicized vote?
This budget presentation comes amid a standoff between Democrats and Republicans on another financial issue more pressing than the 2024 election: the so-called “debt ceiling hike.” The United States, which is the only industrial power in this case, must regularly increase the government’s debt capacity through a vote in Congress.
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However, this vote, long a formality, is becoming increasingly politicized. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Republican, has said his troops will not vote to raise the debt ceiling unless Joe Biden cuts public spending. For his part, the Democratic president has so far refused to negotiate, arguing that the debt the country has accumulated over the years is a shared responsibility.
The stakes aren’t small: If the standoff lasts too long, the United States faces an unprecedented default starting in July. The debt of the world’s largest economy hit $31.4 trillion on Jan. 19, the ceiling at which the country can no longer lend to self-finance and thus default on payments. Temporary emergency measures have been taken to continue payment.
SEE ALSO – USA: Joe Biden wants to reduce the deficit by “nearly $3 trillion” in ten years