The President’s Budget Proposal — spend, cut and save

Hour 1

Yesterday, the President sent Congress a $3.73 trillion spending proposal for 2012 that pledges to cut  $1.1 trillion in deficit savings over the next 10 years through spending cuts and tax increases.  That’s just which 25 percent of the spending reductions outlined by Obama’s bipartisan debt commission last year.    Predictably Republicans say the cuts don’t go far enough while some in his own party say some cuts threaten programs that that are essential like community block grants for low-income people, infrastructure programs, and support for college students.   On the spending side, the President proposed $53 billion for high speed rail and $15.7 billion on the nation’s wireless network.   Additional revenues will be raised through taxes on the oil and gas industry and reductions in home mortgage interest and charitable donations for high-income individuals.  We’ll take it all apart with the help of our guests —  ROBERT BIXBY of the Concord Foundation, SCOTT LILLY of the Center for American Progress, and federal budget expert STAN COLLENDER.

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[audio: 021511_100630.mp3]