Obama Delivers $3.6 Trillion Budget Blueprint

UPI/Landov奥巴马周四在华盛顿就他提交的2010财年预算案发表讲话美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)周四向国会提交了一份3.6万亿美元的2010财政年度预算案，称预算案意在和混乱的过去决裂。预算案包括扩大政府活动，向富裕家庭和企业增税，削减那些从他所称的“一个极度不负责任时期”受益的部门支出。这份预算案是联邦政府数十年来最有雄心的政策措施之一，包括对联邦政府重新安排以提供全国医疗保险，推动能源经济减少对石油和天然气的依赖，加大联邦政府对教育的投入。美军从伊拉克撤军可能会结束一个战场的战争，而另一场战争可能会在阿富汗再度升级。为了提供资金，年收入超过25万美元的美国家庭和大量企业都将支付高昂的费用，但奥巴马恳请美国民众接受过去犯下的错误，作出重大牺牲。奥巴马周四早间说，我们需要坦率接受正不断增加的成本，因为这才是我们努力应对眼前艰难抉择的方式。我们面临着一些艰难的选择。奥巴马将美国目前的经济问题归咎于前任政府，怪罪于美国失去了方向。他的预算案预计，2009年联邦预算赤字将达到1.75万亿美元，占国内生产总值(GDP)的12.3%，比例之高是1942年美国全面陷入二战以来从未出现的。奥巴马在134页预算案的简介中表示，这次危机既不是正常商业周期扭转的结果，也不是一次历史意外。我们之所以会到现在这个地步，是因为此前那个极端不负责任的时期；从美国一些最大企业的高管到华盛顿特区身居高位的权要，私人和公共机构都未能幸免。奥巴马在预算案中称，政府计划到2013年将预算赤字降到5,330亿美元，但随着婴儿潮核心人群开始领取社会保障和医疗保险福利，届时赤字会开始再度攀升。这份预算案的推出可能预示着华盛顿会出现一场多年未见的最为猛烈的政治斗争，而且会在多个战场打响。数分钟内，共和党议员就开始指责预算会引起阶级冲突，可能使美国在未来数年陷入衰退泥潭。商业游说组织则早在预算案公布之前就已准备迎战。甚至民主党议员也可能反对对农业和此前屡试屡败的其他项目削减预算。预算案还拨出了一笔2,500亿美元的资金以完成奥巴马救助金融市场稳定银行体系的工作。这笔资金在国会已经批准的7,000亿美元救助资金之外，而且金额可能还会增加。预算案明确指出，这笔准备资金将用于杠杆收购施压银行业帐面的问题资产，总计7,500亿美元的资产收购。这可能意味着原先救助规模最后会增加一倍。Associated Press奥巴马周四早间就其2010财年预算案发表讲话，他身后是美国财政部长盖特纳及行政管理和预算局局长奥扎格（右）奥巴马提议大举增加教育经费，包括将面向高等教育的贝尔奖学金(Pell Grants)和通货膨胀相关联，并将这个大众奖学金转型为一个自动的权利项目。作为政府更为广泛扩大基础设施投资计划的一部分，高速铁路也将获得每年10亿美元的预算，即便奥巴马7,870亿美元刺激计划已经包括了这方面资金。国防部2010年预算将增加204亿美元，较2009年增长4%，虽比不上布什当政时期的增速，但可以满足陆军和海军陆战队的增兵需要。按照奥巴马的要求，伊拉克和阿富汗战争2009年剩下时间的预算为755亿美元，明年则还需要1,300亿美元。原因是奥巴马虽然打算在19个月内从伊拉克撤军，但计划将大部分撤出的部队部署到阿富汗。作为预算中最具雄心的提议，奥巴马计划限制温室气体排放，强迫污染方购买排放许可。经过这些努力，到2020年美国的温室气体排放量将比2005年减少14%，到2050年将减少83%。排放许可将从2012年开始出售，在2019年之前可望收入6,460亿美元。政府将从这笔钱中拿出5,257亿美元用于奥巴马签署的“劳有所得”家庭 税计划，每对有工作的夫妇可以享受800美元 税额。剩下的1,200亿美元则投入到清洁能源技术上。奥巴马承认，他那6,300亿美元的国家医疗保障计划无法让每一个美国人都享受到，但他表示这将只是个开始。为了筹措预算所需资金，奥巴马明显已选好了这场博奕中的赢家和输家--首先就是要拿富人开刀。奥巴马用带着怒气的民粹主义口吻（这是他在选战中尽力避免的）写道：为了给富人和有后台的人实施巨额减税，我们牺牲了教育清洁能源医疗保障和基础建设投资。在面对此番景象时，华盛顿忽视了中产阶级在强压之下举步维艰...挣钱并没有错，但容忍政策倾斜到让如此少的一部分人一直独占好处就不对了。如此说来，这份预算计划可视为一种报复。正如所料，从2011年开始，年收入超过20万美元的个人和收入超过25万美元的夫妇要缴纳更多税--在10年内为政府多贡献6,560亿美元。仅提高所得税率一项就可以增收3,390亿美元。对个人免税和分项扣除进行限制将增收1,800亿美元。提高资本利得税率将增收1,180亿美元。原定于明年取消的遗产税将被保留下来，对个人继承遗产超过350万美元--夫妇继承超过700万美元--将征收45%的遗产税。企业也将受到影响。通过限制跨国企业对海外利润进行避税，估计政府可以在未来十年内增加2,100亿美元收入。对冲基金和私募基金的经理人将另外贡献240亿美元，今后他们的收入将按所得税率纳税而不是资本利得税率。石油和天然气公司受的打击会特别大，他们所享受的多种税收减免将被取消。联邦政府将接手大部分助学贷款。经营管理式医疗的公司将失去因提供医保计划而获得的补贴。经营收入50万美元以上的农场主获得的补贴将逐步取消。联邦政府将不再为棉花储备提供资金。奥巴马公布预算计划时称，有时候你可以负担得起装修房屋的费用。但有时候你需要将注意力放在重建地基上。眼下正是该重视地基的时候。Jonathan Weisman（更新完成）相关阅读白宫向国会提交2010财年预算案 2009-02-27奥巴马决意削减巨额赤字 2009-02-23


President Barack Obama delivered a $3.6 trillion budget blueprint to Congress Thursday that aims to 'break from a troubled past,' with expanded government activism, tax increases on affluent families and businesses, and spending cuts targeted at those he says profited from 'an era of profound irresponsibility.'The budget blueprint for fiscal year 2010 is one of the most ambitious policy prescriptions in decades, a reordering of the federal government to provide national health care, shift the energy economy away from oil and gas, and boost the federal commitment to education.One war would end, as troops leave Iraq, while another would ramp up in Afghanistan. To fund it all, families earning over $250,000 and a variety of businesses will pay a steep price, but Mr. Obama implored Americans to own up to the mistakes of the past while accepting profound sacrifices.'We need to be honest with ourselves about what costs are being racked up, because that's how we'll come to grips with the hard choices that lie ahead,' Mr. Obama said Thursday morning. 'And there are some hard choices that lie ahead.'The president blamed the nation's economic travails on the administration that preceded him and on a nation that lost its bearings. His budget plan projects a federal deficit of $1.75 trillion for 2009, or 12.3% of the gross domestic product, a level not seen since 1942 as the U.S. plunged into World War II.'This crisis is neither the result of a normal turn of the business cycle nor an accident of history,' the president states in an opening message of the 134-page document. 'We arrived at this point as a result of an era of profound irresponsibility that engulfed both private and public institutions from some of our largest companies' executive suites to the seats of power in Washington, D.C.'By 2013, the deficit would drop to $533 billion but begin to climb from there again as the heart of the Baby Boom begins drawing Social Security and Medicare benefits.The budget's introduction is likely to herald one of the fiercest political fights Washington has seen in years, waged on multiple fronts. Within minutes, Republicans were lambasting a document they called class warfare, designed to mire the nation in recession for years to come. Business lobbyists were girding for battle even before the budget's unveiling. Even Democrats are likely to blanch at cuts to agriculture and other programs that have been tried before   and have failed repeatedly.The budget sets aside an additional $250 billion to complete the president's effort to rescue the financial markets and stabilize the banking sector. That would come on top of the $700 billion already allocated by Congress. And it is likely to grow. The budget makes clear that the reserve would be used to leverage the purchase of toxic assets weighing down the banking sector's books, $750 billion in asset purchases overall. That could mean a doubling of the original bailout in the end.Mr. Obama proposes large increases in education funding, including indexing Pell Grants for higher education to inflation and converting the popular scholarship to an automatic 'entitlement' program. High-speed rail would gain a $1 billion-a-year grant program, part of a larger effort to boost infrastructure spending even beyond the funds in his $787 billion stimulus plan.The Defense Department would see a $20.4 billion boost in 2010, a 4% increase from this year, slowing its growth from the Bush years but securing personnel increases for the Army and Marine Corps. Mr. Obama will request an additional $75.5 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the rest of 2009 and another $130 billion for 2010, as he withdraws most combat troops from Iraq over 19 months but sends many of them to Afghanistan.In one of the budget's most ambitious proposals, the president plans to cap the emissions of greenhouse gases, forcing polluters to purchase permits for emissions that would be slowly brought down to 14% below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83% below 2005 levels by 2050. The sale of those permits, beginning in 2012, would reap $646 billion through 2019. Of those revenues, $525.7 billion would be devoted to extending Mr. Obama's signature 'Making Work Pay' $800 tax credit for working couples. Another $120 billion would go to clean energy technology.He acknowledged his $630 billion fund for a national health insurance program will not be enough to ensure access to health care for all Americans, but he said it will be a start.To finance his proposals, the president has clearly chosen winners and losers -- with the affluent heading the list of losers. In populist tones that reflect an anger he notably avoided on the campaign trail, Mr. Obama wrote, 'Prudent investments in education, clean energy, health care, and infrastructure were sacrificed for huge tax cuts for the wealthy and well-connected. In the face of these trade-offs, Washington has ignored the squeeze on middle-class families that is making it harder for them to get ahead... There's nothing wrong with making money, but there is something wrong when we allow the playing field to be tilted so far in the favor of so few.'In that sense, the budget is payback. As expected, taxes will rise for singles earning $200,000 and couples earning $250,000, beginning in 2011 -- for a total windfall of $656 billion over 10 years. Income tax hikes would raise $339 billion alone. Limits on personal exemptions and itemized deductions would bring in another $180 billion. Higher capital gains rates would bring in $118 billion. The estate tax, scheduled to be repealed next year, would instead be preserved, with the value of estates over $3.5 million -- $7 million for couples -- taxed at 45%.Businesses would be hit, too. The budget envisions reaping $210 billion over the next decade by limiting the ability of U.S.-based multinational companies to shield overseas profits from taxation. Another $24 billion would come from hedge fund and private equity managers, whose income would be taxed at income tax rates, not capital gains rates. Oil and gas companies would be hit particularly hard, with the repeal of multiple tax credits and deductions.The federal government would take over most student lending. Managed care companies would lose their subsidies for offering Medicare plans. Farmers with operating incomes over $500,000 would see their farm subsidies phased out. And cotton storage would no longer be financed by the federal government.'There are times where you can afford to redecorate your house, and there are times where you need to focus on rebuilding its foundation,' Mr. Obama said as he unveiled his plan. 'Today we have to focus on foundations.'Jonathan Weisman