Obama Budget Seeks To Bolster Middle Class
Obama releases 2015 budget proposal today. AP: "...expected to include proposals to upgrade aging highways and railroads, finance more pre-kindergarten programs and enhance job training. The White House said it would also enlarge the earned income tax credit to cover 13.5 million low-earning workers without children, expand the child care tax credit for some parents and make it easier for workers to contribute to Individual Retirement Accounts. A revamping of corporate income taxes and higher tobacco levies would help pay for some of the initiatives."
Budget proposes expansion of Earned Income Tax Credit. NYT: " He will propose expanding a longstanding tax break to better benefit workers who are childless, which the White House estimates will help 13.5 million additional Americans who hold jobs yet remain poor ... Obama would offset the costs, $60 billion over 10 years, by ending two tax breaks for some wealthy taxpayers, as a Republican House leader also recently proposed as part of a broader plan to overhaul the tax code ..."
And other tax breaks for struggling middle class. Bloomberg: "Obama will also propose an expansion of the child and dependent care tax credit targeted at families with children under five years old. Details weren’t spelled out, but the excerpts said it would benefit about 1.7 million families who’d get an average tax cut of more than $600 a year ... In education, the budget will propose a permanent extension of the American Opportunity Tax Credit that would benefit about 11.5 million families and students with an average of more than $1,100 to help offset college costs."
Ryan v. Ryan
Rep. Paul Ryan's poverty report undercuts his own proposals, argues TNR's Jonathan Cohn: "Ryan’s report notes that ... according to some evaluations of the [Head Start] program, the gains the kids make disappear over time [though] kids in some programs do better—not just in the short-term but the long-term ... What’s the difference? The report doesn’t say, but researchers can tell you: The programs that work are the ones that have more qualified, experienced teachers and have a clear, educational focus. Money tends to help with that."
Ryan's attack on anti-poverty programs admits many actually work. ThinkProgress' Igor Volsky: "...16 examples from Ryan’s own report [show] how the government can help lower-income Americans make ends meet ..."
Breakfast Sides
New hope for unemployment insurance extension in Senate, but not House. National Journal: "The Senate is currently at work on a package that would extend the benefits for six months. But, when accounting for retroactive pay, the program would likely expire again in June. Senate Democrats have agreed to pursue some kind of financial offset ... The Senate was slated to take up an extension package this week, but that vote will likely be delayed until early next week because of the D.C. snowstorm ... [But] there is currently no discussion on the issue with House leaders..."
Boehner drops oil drilling initiative to pay for highway bill. The Hill: "The proposal that the Speaker embraced in the last Congress would have authorized expanded oil and gas production, and used the revenue to supplement the gas tax in paying for infrastructure projects. But a Congressional Budget Office study found the idea wouldn’t generate enough money ... a House GOP leadership aide confirmed that he would not be pushing the conference to adopt it, as he did two years ago. 'While revenue is clearly the sticking point, that proposal is not being considered,' the aide said."
