$7 Trillion Tax-and-spend Budget Proposal of President Biden Probably Will Not Reduce the Deficit

Around $6.9 trillion in spending and a $1.8 trillion deficit are included in President Joe Biden’s budget proposal for fiscal 2024, which was announced on Thursday. This would add to the nation’s already substantial debt.

In addition to calling for strengthening Social Security, the budget proposes increased spending for Medicare, funded by tax hikes. Biden has tried to position himself as the protector of Social Security and Medicare, two programs that are a major contributor to rising government expenditure and make up more than a third of it.

Base on the article published by Washington Examiner on March 15, 2023, the budget includes a strategy to avoid the Medicare hospital insurance trust fund’s insolvency, which is anticipated to occur in 2028.

The Biden proposal would boost payroll taxes for anyone making more than $400,000 to cover Medicare benefits in addition to advancing drug pricing reforms. In particular, it would increase the Medicare tax rate for those making over $400,000 in yearly income from 3.8% to 5%.

Furthermore, the enhanced child tax credit is to be reinstated under the plan. The child tax credit was temporarily increased by Biden’s 2021 pandemic relief legislation from $2,000 to $3,000 per child, with an additional $3,600 for children under the age of 6, and it was made completely refundable. In 2022, the temporary expansion came to an end. In order to increase the availability of affordable housing, especially homes for severely low-income households, the budget contains $59 billion in required financing and tax incentives.

The budget would also increase money for the Social Security Administration by 10% over what it spent this year. The plan makes investments in personnel, IT, and other upgrades.