Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service
President Joe Biden has released his budget proposal for fiscal year 2024, an ambitious $6.9 trillion plan which preserves many safety net programs launched during the Covid-19 pandemic, increases defense spending, including continued support to Ukraine, and expands programs such as Medicaid and preschool education.
Experts at the ems briefing on March 17 explained the President’s Budget, an ambitious spending plan including repealing Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthy and increasing the corporate tax rate to pay to shore up Medicaid and Medicare, a permanent Enhanced Child Tax Credit, and environmental and environmental and educational priorities, among other programs, plus deficit reduction measures.
Chad Stone, Chief Economist at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities said Congress is under no obligation to accept the President’s budget proposals, which the President proposes but ultimately require Congress to pass. He said that Biden’s budget plan theoretically hopes to bring more prosperity to the country and higher income for the people. In fact, many infrastructure bills that have been passed so far have been supported by raising taxes on the rich. President has presented a visionary budget proposal which recognizes that meeting the needs of the United States in the 21st Century requires more revenues and bolder program initiatives than we currently have.
Elizabeth Lower-Basch, Deputy Executive Director of Policy at the Center for Law and Poverty CLASP said Biden’s budget wants to provide more benefits to children, families and workers, especially low-income groups. She said that many relief projects in the epidemic are coming to an end, but the current large inflation has caused everyone’s living costs to soar and family pressure has increased. The child tax relief launched by the federal government in 2021 is part of the overall relief plan in the United States. Children under the age of six will receive a monthly subsidy of $300, and children aged six to 17 will receive a monthly subsidy of $250. These benefits will be credited when filing taxes. This project has benefited many Latino and African American families with multiple children. He also wants to continue providing health care for tens of millions of undocumented families. The budget also invests $150 billion in Medicaid for seniors and people with disabilities to receive care at home or in community settings.
Andrew Eschtruth, Associate Director for External Relations at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College said social security is the backbone of the U.S. retirement and disability income system. It currently provides inflation-protected benefits to more than 65 million people, including retired workers, those with disabilities, and their spouses and children. Under current law, with no policy changes, the Social Security actuaries estimate that the program could continue to pay full benefits until 2035. He pointed out that the U.S. social insurance system has changed a lot in the past 20 years, including the extension of the retirement age from the original 65 to the current 67. Of course, it can continue to be postponed, but this delay means that your own Benefits are reduced.
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