Image source - aljazeera.com
US President Joe Biden on Friday unveiled a $6 trillion budget for fiscal year 2022 that's piled high with new safety net programs for the poor and middle class, but his generosity depends on taxing corporations and the wealthy to keep the nation's spiking debt from spiraling totally out of control.
Beginning October 1, including $1.52 trillion in discretionary spending for the military and domestic programs. Excluding emergency measures last year tied to the coronavirus pandemic, the request would boost base discretionary spending by 8.4%, or $118 billion, from the $1.4 trillion authorized in fiscal 2021.
Mr. Biden’s two-part agenda is to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure and substantially expand the social safety net, contained in his American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan, along with other planned increases in discretionary spending.
The proposal shows the sweep of Mr. Biden’s ambitions to wield government power to help more Americans attain the comforts of a middle-class life and to lift U.S. industry to better compete globally in an economy the administration believes will be dominated by a race to reduce energy emissions and combat climate change.
“The best way to grow our economy is not from the top down, but from the bottom up and the middle out, our prosperity comes from the people who get up every day, work hard, raise their family, pay their taxes, serve their Nation, and volunteer in their communities.” Biden said in his written budget message.
The budget incorporates the administration's eight-year, $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal and its $1.8 trillion American Families Plan and adds details on his $1.5 trillion request for annual operating expenditures for the Pentagon and domestic agencies.
“Together, these ... will be transformational: Strengthening our economy, boosting American competitiveness, and delivering shared prosperity and economic security,"
said acting White House budget chief Shalanda Young.