Third Way Statement on President Obama's Budget
February 13, 2012
The President deserves credit for keeping deficit reduction in the forefront in his new budget. The budget contains a mix of revenue increases, entitlement cuts, defense savings, and cost-reducing reforms in such areas as federal pensions and agriculture subsidies. In addition, it includes reasonable spending increases in areas that will benefit the economy – from infrastructure to trade enforcement. Rather than retreating to our usual partisan corners, we urge both parties to look at the President’s budget as an opening call for negotiations that will restore long term fiscal health through higher revenues, necessary entitlement reforms that include Social Security, and investments in America’s future growth. This is a solid opening bid in budget negotiations and we urge Congress not to squander it.
