WASHINGTON- On Friday, President Joe Biden presented a $6 trillion budget proposal that would raise the national debt to a percentage of the economy higher than it was in Worl War ll, making an opening for Republicans to increase their assaults on his ambitious spending proposals as too expensive.
The government argues that plans are economically responsible because the spending on education, public health, the environment, social safety, and infrastructure-net programs is needed to reverse decades of disinvestment and help the nation recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Also, officials say low-interest rates gives the nation an opportunity to increase spending without hurting the economy.
“Failing to make these investments during a time when interest rates are at an all-time low would be a historic missed opportunity that would lead future generations deprived,” said Shalanda Young, the budget director of the White House.
Biden suggests paying for what he’s calling his American Families, and American Jobs plans through higher taxes on wealthy Americans and big corporations.
But he isn’t addressing the structural deficit that existed pre-pandemic. That imbalance is due to an ageing population, compounding interest, rising health care costs- and the lack of sufficient tax revenues to keep up.
Republicans have said the nation’s fiscal problems are embedded in unsustainable spending on entitlement programs like Medicaid, Social Security and Medicare.
Democrats have concentrated their blame on tax cuts, specifically those passed in 2018 by a GOP-controlled Congress that are expected to raise deficits by $1.9 trillion over a decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
