President Obama’s final budget was submitted today, a $4.1 trillion millstone for American taxpayers. The budget was chock full of tax hikes in order to fund Obama’s pet projects, and “proposed investments in infrastructure, cyber security, education, and job growth.” The FY2017 budget has an $503 billion deficit, which would follow the heels of the projected budget deficit for the current FY2016, $616 billion.
Highlights from the bill include:
— $11 billion for the Departments of Defense and State to fight Islamic State militants and stabilize Syria
— $19 billion for cyber security investments across the U.S. government
— a $10.25 per barrel tax on imported and domestically produced oil to fund transportation infrastructure such as mass transit and high speed rail
— eliminating including the “carried interest” loophole allowing investment fund managers to treat income as capital gains
— impose the “Buffett Rule” to ensure that millionaires pay a tax rate of no less than 30 percent of their income after charitable contributions
— a new fee on the liabilities of the largest banks that would raise $111 billion over 10 years and discourage excessive leverage in the financial system.
— $152 billion for research and development
On the cost savings side, Obama’s budget seeks to reduce deficits by $2.9 trillion over the next decade. “The budget forecasts that deficits would average 2.5 percent of U.S. economic output over 10 years compared to about 4.0 percent in the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate, which is based on existing tax and spending laws.”
From the looks of this budget, President Obama clearly foresees or at least champions a Bernie Sanders presidency. Big tax increases on the wealthy are predictable, but the proposed bank “fee” is a new concept. It’s the last gasp of a failed presidency mired by economic illiteracy.