President Obama’s first budget is a “bold, even radical departure” from recent fiscal policy, said David Leonhardt in The New York Times. It seeks to “sharply raise taxes on the rich” and cut taxes for everyone else, to reverse 30 years of growing income inequality. In fact, Obama’s budget is “nothing less than an attempt to end a three-decade era of economic policy dominated by the ideas of Ronald Reagan.”
Obama actually “sees himself a Reagan,” with some justification, said Charles Krauthammer in The Washington Post. Both men “came to office to do something,” not “to be someone.” But whereas Reagan came to shrink government and lower taxes, “Obamaism” seeks universal health care, education, and green energy, all propped up by tax dollars. Based on this budget, Obama wants to turn America into a “European-style social democracy.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.