Budget keeps deficits near $1 trillion
>>> in the president's budget , he is trying to reconcile popular tax cuts with a promise to reduce the deficit over the long hall. we have maya with us, let's talk about the president's claims and republican claims, both sides trying to claim the moral high ground here, who is right?
>> unfortunately we are not off to it being a year of responsible luggage responsible budgeting, there were not high expectations for the president's budget , i'm afraid, and he probably met it. there's good things in it. there are real spending reduction ares in health care and that is the most important area to focus on and there are important revenue increases but the budget does not get us close to where we need to go. it's serious year in terms of bringing down the debt and do so in a way that helps with the economy to help with economic recovery. they used too many gimmicks, and were not aggressive enough in the savings and the areas that they need to be. in the end, if we do not start talking realistically of what we need to, it will ignore the issues that we have to face.
>> one of the things that the president had to say over in virginia on the warren buffett tax cut .
>> warren buffett pay as lower tax rate than his secretary. it does not make sense. i do not need a tax break . we do not need to provide additional tax cuts for folks that are doing really, really, really, well.
>> but the fact is the warren buffett tax increase would not do anything.
>> it's a serious problem to say we have growing income in equality, let's think about making the tax code more progressive. that should be on the table. but we have to say, there's not enough revenue from billionaires and millionaires to loclose the gap but we have to look at broader entitlement reform. while they talk about health care , it's not enough. social security is nowhere to be heard of from either side. we are skirting the hard choices and the longer we do it, the greater the risks that we do not set up a mandate during elections, to do something afterwards. we should not be taking a year off and ignoring the problem, we should be focusing on getting a deal done now. his budget has good things but not getting us where we need to go.
>> here is the senate leader, mitch making his points.
>> the senate has not passed a budget even though the law requires it. the only budget that will be passed is the house passed budget , i'll present it so he will have a chance to get a vote on it.
>> is that more gamesmanship. it's showing a contrast, but we are stressing that the budget process doesn't really work too well. all you have to do is look at our huge deficits and debt, and knows that it does not get us where we need to go. and and there's many years that we do not pass a budget resolution and our appropriations are put together in a big resolution. we know the process is broken t way we budget in the country is not getting us where we need to go. what we need right now, more than just a budget resolution coming out of congress, it's a budget deal. it's the kind of summet we had in the past. we need all parties, roll up their sleeves and sit down and come up with a plan to save trillions of to get our debt levels back to where they need to be. and they will be plenty of gamesmanship about whose fault it is. but we need specifics of thousahow to fix it and the ability for compromise.
>> what you say to those that say, including the fed, saying that we need to postpone real deficit reduction and not handle it right now because the economy is too fragile and it could jeopardize the economy.
>> i agree we need a plan that gives us time for the recovery to take hold and grow, but it's not going to be a real and robust recovery unless we put in place now the measures that are going to be bringing our debt levels back down, the chairman of the fed said, you need a ten-year plan, give yourself fiscal space up front to allow the recovery to grow, but let's get the changes on the books and phase them in gradually. that creates the time for households to adjust and markets need to have faith that we are going to stay on track and cannot have a fiscal crisis that would result if we do nothing. it's not about this year, making those changes, it's putting the things in place that allow it to happen gradually.
