Budget proposal quickly divides Congress

OUR VIEW

View reaction from NC political leaders to the president's proposed budget, and see the full text of President Obama's budget speech, on this site under local and state politics.

By: The Record Editorial Staff | Hickory Daily Record
Published: February 14, 2012

Republicans were hammering away at President Obama’s proposed budget – and Democrats praised it – almost before it was announced.

The president wants to raise the national debt and defer trillion-dollar deficit reductions. That’s not exactly what Congress had in mind when it targeted spending cuts and job creation as the ways out of the nation’s economic malaise.

Conservatives and liberals want to dramatically increase the number of jobs available to Americans, but a sticking point is how to do that without federal help – that means money – for small businesses and core industries.

Then, there is the issue of national security. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, say the president’s reduction in defense spending will leave America well-armed and the military well-equipped. Republicans chafe at the notion that the size of the Army and Marine Corps will be cut, shipbuilding curtailed and the purchase of some aircraft and weapons systems will be delayed.

Add to that reports that Obama will recommend eliminating many of the nation’s nuclear warheads, and the gridlock that marked 2011 will continue this year and into the near future.

Obama’s proposed defense budget is $32 billion less than the current spending plan. The prospect comes amid efforts to reform Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, the fight over personal income taxes for the very rich, and increased spending on education for all levels.

We do wonder why deficit reduction is put on the back burner when a special congressional committee could not find agreement and Congress has gone to great lengths to avoid so-called automatic spending cuts. We question the wisdom of criticizing federal bailout programs when most industries, most notably the auto industry, has repaid or is well on the way to repaying the government.

However, Obama’s proffered budget is another divisive issue in Washington. We think Congress can find agreement somewhere amid the gridlock and work from there.

That may be too much to hope for, considering the comments flying around the nation’s capital in this presidential election year.