WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's new budget is being unveiled Wednesday, but the broad outlines of the plan are already receiving poor reviews from the president's liberal allies and his Republican critics in Congress.
Many Democratic lawmakers oppose Obama's call for shaving benefit programs, and Republicans are equally dismissive of new tax increases. The criticism comes even though Obama's budget reprises a framework that once held the promise of a long-sought "grand bargain" between Republicans and Democrats for reducing government deficits
Obama's plan mixes almost $600 billion in new taxes over the coming decade with modest curbs on spending, including lower-than-scheduled benefit increases for people receiving Social Security. The wealthy would lose the full benefit of some tax breaks while the poor and middle class would gradually slip into higher tax brackets.
