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...to the surprise of..... nobody.
President Obamas proposed 2013 budget will forecast a $901 billion deficit for next year, falling far short of his goal to halve the deficit in four years.
The budget, an outline of which was released by the White House Friday night, will show a higher deficit this year than in 2011, up from $1.3 trillion to $1.33 trillion.
In addition, the projected decline to $901 billion in 2013 is dependent on enactment of the president's policies, including spending reductions agreed to last summer and ending George W. Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy at the end of this year....
[key points]
The deficit would decline as a percentage of the economy from 8.5% this year
to 5.5% in 2013 and 2.7% by 2018. Most economists say deficits should be below
3% of the economy.
Tax breaks for the wealthy would be reduced so that they are no better than
those for the middle class. No household making more than $1 million a year
would pay less than 30% in income taxes.
More than $360 billion would be cut from Medicare, Medicaid and other health
programs over 10 years -- an amount that's sure to be seen as too much by
seniors and liberal groups, and paltry by Republicans in Congress pushing more
robust cuts in entitlement programs.
Defense spending would be reduced by nearly $500 billion from what was
planned in the budget Obama proposed a year ago.
Savings from winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would be put
toward deficit reduction and investments sought by Obama, including new
infrastructure spending.
About $350 billion in new investments, most of them remaining from Obama's
American Jobs Act that was derailed in Congress, would be rejuvenated...