Democrats’ budget to include almost $1 trillion in new taxes

A handy-dandy preview from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of what we’re in for with the Senate Democrats’ long-awaited — and let me just repeat that, long-awaited — budget; in a nutshell, more class-warmongering and still higher taxes, more government spending and “stimulus” to spur the economy, and a whole lotta’ “balance” that doesn’t actually mean what we think it means. Click the image to watch at RCP:

Democrats believe it is critical that we stabilize the deficit. But it will take more than accounting gimmicks to achieve real deficit reduction. And at a time when corporations are making record profits, the stock market is soaring and wealthy Americans’ income continues to rise, that deficit reduction shouldn’t be come at the expense of middle-class families, senior citizens and the poor.

Americans have demanded a fair approach to deficit reduction that makes sensible cuts, but asks profitable corporations and the wealthiest among us to share the burden. Democrats have been listening. That’s why this week Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray will introduce a budget that reflects those balanced principles. The Democratic plan will cut wasteful spending and reduce the deficit, close tax loopholes that benefit the rich and invest in what the economy needs to grow. It will encourage a strong middle class.

Congressman Ryan and his Republican colleagues in Congress have taken a different approach – an approach that makes it plain they missed the message of the November elections. Their budget will once again put moneyed special interests ahead of middle-class families. And no amount of rebranding will hide that.

More specifically, Democrats plan to counter Paul Ryan‘s oh-so-blackguardly budget by proposing that we steer nice and clear of even approaching balancing the budget, and instead focus on about $1.85 trillion of deficit reduction over ten years. …Which might sound like a lot, until we remember that we already have $16 trillion in debt and we’re merely talking about adding to that grand total at a slightly lesser rate, and that they intend to do so by getting Americans to pay a trillion dollars more in taxes over that decade.

Senate Democrats will propose raising $975 billion in new taxes over the next decade in the budget they will release this week, setting up a sharp contrast with a House Republican plan to balance the budget over 10 years without new tax increases.

In their first budget since 2009, Senate Democrats will propose reducing the federal budget deficit by $1.85 trillion over the next 10 years through equal doses of new taxes and spending cuts, according to a Democrat familiar with the proposal.

The plan is part of the budget blueprint for fiscal-year 2014 that Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D., Wash.) is expected to formally release on Wednesday.

… They would lower spending on domestic programs by $493 billion, cut $240 billion from defense spending and count on $242 billion in savings from lower interest payments on the federal debt.

Yes, because enabling to government to take even more money out of the private sector and decide how to spend it for us is such a historically great way to create wealth and jobs — just what our ‘recovering’ economy needs! But, heck, at least we’re actually bothering to go through the normal, constitutional process of each side producing a budget and debating from a concrete standpoint, finally.

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