ICYMI: President Biden's 2023 Fiscal Budget

 Is "the state of our union really strong? Are we really building back better than ever?

President Biden unveiled his 2023 budget this week with a few familiar focused items.

The president is again calling for those who make millions of dollars to pay their fair share of taxes. His 2023 budget makes it plain that billionaires should also do the same.

 (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Outlining his budget plans the president makes the claim that, "The tax code currently offers special treatment for the types of income that wealthy people enjoy. This special treatment, combined with sophisticated tax planning and giant loopholes, allows many of the very wealthiest people in the world to end up paying a lower tax rate on their full income than many middle-class households. To finally address this glaring problem, the Budget includes a minimum tax on multi-millionaires and billionaires who so often pay indefensibly low tax rates. This minimum tax would apply only to the wealthiest 0.01 percent of households—those with more than $100 million—and over half the revenue would come from billionaires alone. It would ensure that, in any given year, they pay at least 20 percent of their total income in Federal income taxes.is also calling on the likes of billionaires to also pay their fair tax share."

Pay your fair share.

• The Budget includes an increase to the rate that corporations pay in taxes on their profits. Corporations received an enormous tax break in 2017. While their profits have soared, their investment in our economy did not: the tax breaks did not trickle down to workers or consumers. Instead of allowing some of the most profitable corporations in the world to avoid paying their fair share, the Budget raises the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, still the lowest tax rate faced by corporations since World War II except in the years after the 2017 tax cut. This increase is complemented by other changes to the corporate tax code that incentivize job creation and investment in the United States and ensure that large corporations pay their fair share.

• Prevents Multinational Corporations from Using Tax Havens to Game the System. For decades, American workers and taxpayers have paid the price for a tax system that has rewarded multinational corporations for shipping jobs and profits overseas. Last year, the Administration rallied more than 130 countries to agree to a global minimum tax that will ensure that profitable corporations pay their fair share and will incentivize U.S. multinationals to create jobs and invest in the United States. The Budget contains additional measures to ensure that multinationals operating in the United States cannot use tax havens to undercut the global minimum tax.

OPINION: If we could interject here and point out that it is just selfish entitlement of the extremely wealthy not to pay taxes. Leaving the burden to fix roads (that never really seem to get fixed), infrastructure, etc.on the backs of common working folk (folk who earn less than a decent living wage) to carry this load is outlandish. The wealthy can purchase nearly everything their hearts desire, while some struggle just to get to their jobs, having to take two and three modes of transportation.

The U.S. government claims it doesn't like to give handouts to its citizens, yet it taxes (i.e. takes a portion of their money) for every item purchased, every home and vehicle bought (if it can be afforded) all-the-while giving nearly a trillion dollars to so-called NATO allies, like Ukraine for aid and assistance.  Meanwhile countries like Haiti, still trying to recover from two earthquakes, poverty, and a declining economic infrastructure, still wait for the U.S. to provide aid to improve the country's basic conditions.

REMARKS: VP Harris meets Jamaican Prime Minister Holness to the tune of $20M.

Another item that remains to be discussed is the payment of reparations to African Americans for slavery - you know, the inhumane treatment of people that led to the building, and wealth, of America? 

Also on the table is the condition of homelessness.  America has a ridiculously high rate of homelessness (in nearly every state, town, and city). Funds could be best utilized to help Americans here at home improve their lot in life, tremendously.  

Far too many families live in unsafe, unclean motels and hotels because, quite frankly - the rent is too damn high.  Builders continue to price homes out of the reach of common folk with property nearing, or surpassing, $1M for both new, and existing homes. Financial institutions like Wells Fargo make the necessity of homeownership a distant reality.

But the Biden administration has a plan.

The Promoting Job Creation, Reducing Cost Pressures, and Boosting Productive Capacity

• Increases Affordable Housing Supply. In communities throughout the country, rents are skyrocketing and homeownership is becoming increasingly out of reach. This strains family budgets and holds back our economy – making it harder for workers to afford to live near good jobs and good transportation options. To address the critical shortage of affordable housing in communities throughout the Nation, the Budget proposes $50 billion for housing construction and supply – addressing existing market gaps and helping to stabilize housing prices over the long-term. This includes funding, via the Department of Housing and Urban Development, for state and local housing finance agencies and their partners to provide grants, revolving loan funds, and other streamlined financing tools to boost housing supply, with a particular focus on housing types that have traditionally been difficult to finance using existing Federal financing but have the potential to boost supply and density in supply-constrained communities. The Budget also includes grants to advance and reward state and local jurisdictions’ efforts to remove barriers to affordable housing development. It also includes modifying Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to better incentivize new unit production, and funding for the Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund to support financing of new construction and substantial rehabilitation that creates net new units of affordable rental and for sale housing.

Combatting Crime

The president claims he wants to take a tougher stance on crime. He has proposed the following action items to help his cause, including putting more officers on the beat, providing more tools to tackle gun violence, increasing federal law enforcement capacity to combat violent crime, strengthening civil rights enforcement, and supporting criminal justice reform.

• Puts More Police Officers on the Beat. The Budget provides $3.2 billion in discretionary resources for State and local grants, and $30 billion in mandatory re­sources to support law enforcement, crime preven­tion, and community violence intervention, including putting more officers for community policing on the beat across the Nation.

• Provides More Tools to Tackle Gun Violence. The Budget provides $1.7 billion for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to expand multijurisdictional gun trafficking strike forces with additional personnel, increase regulation of the firearms industry, enhance ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, and modernize the National Tracing Center.

• Increases Federal Law Enforcement Capacity to Combat Violent Crime. Under the President’s Budget, key Federal law enforcement agencies like the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service will have the resources they need fight violent crime, including through fugitive apprehension and enforcement operations. The Budget also ensures U.S. Attorneys have the necessary support to prosecute violent crimes.

• Strengthens Civil Rights Enforcement. The Budget makes important investments to support law enforcement while addressing longstanding inequities and strengthening civil rights protections. The Budget invests $367 million, an increase of $101 million over the 2021 enacted level, at the Department of Justice to support police reform, the prosecution of hate crimes, enforcement of voting rights, and efforts to provide equitable access to justice.

• Supports Criminal Justice System Reform. The Budget includes $100 million for a historic multi-agency collaboration to provide comprehensive workforce development services to people in the Federal prison system and proposes $106 million to support the deployment of body-worn cameras to DOJ’s law enforcement officers.

UPCOMING: POLICE REFORM FORUM

As you may recall earlier in the week, the president signed into law The Emmit Till Anti-Lynching Bill, making lynching a federal crime. Yes, in 2022, lynching is still a real thing. It begs the question, what kind of sick f---- does this kind of thing? (Think James Byrd and Ahmaud Arbery events).

As early as 1898, one hundred and twenty-four years ago, legislation was introduced to end lynching. Guess what?  It never received the support it warranted and no federal legislation prevented the lynching of human beings; mostly African American human beings.

Just this week, we learned that in 2019, another officer violated the civil rights of another citizen, suggesting that criminal justice does indeed need to be reformed. 

LEARN ABOUT THE LIFE OF LUCILLE TIMES.

It has been discovered that police officers in Louisiana murdered Ronald Green after initially telling his family that Mr. Green died in a car crash. Another story suggested that Green was taken into custody after resisting arrest.  You can read the 'rest' on what really happened to Mr. Greene here. We just hope putting more officers on the "beat', doesn't result in more events like what happened to Mr. Green, or this.

The administration additionally plans to restore American leadership, confront global threats, combat climate crises, advance environmental justice, expand economic opportunity, advance equity and strengthen democracy by:

• Addressing long-standing funding disparities between under-resourced schools—which disproportionately serve students of color—and their wealthier counterparts. The Budget increases support for children with disabilities by providing a $3.3 billion increase for IDEA Grants to States – the largest two-year increase ever for the program. The budget also doubles funding for IDEA Grants for Infants and Families and proposes to reforms to increase equitable access to early intervention services with a proven record for improving academic and developmental outcomes. The Budget also provides $1 billion in sustainable funding to help schools increase the number of school counselors, psychologists, social workers and other health professionals. The Budget provides an additional $438 million for Full Service Community Schools, ramping up the mental health and wraparound supports in schools for students and their families. The Budget proposes to double the maximum Pell Grant by 2029, beginning with a historic $2,175 increase over the 2021-2022 school year, thereby expanding access and helping nearly 6.7 million students afford college.

SCHOOL NEWS: TEACHER FIRED FROM SCHOOL FORMER FIRST LADY ATTENDED.
 

• Advancing Child and Family Well-Being in the Child Welfare System. The Budget proposes to expand and incentivize the use of evidence-based foster care prevention services to keep families safely together and to reduce the number of children entering foster care, while also targeting resources to reduce the overrepresentation of children and families of color in the child welfare system. For children who do need to be placed into foster care, the Budget provides States with support to place more children with relatives or other adults who have an existing emotional bond with the child and fewer children in group homes and institutions while also providing additional funding to improve the educational outcomes of foster youth and support youth who age out of care without a permanent caregiver.

• Guaranteeing Adequate and Stable Funding for the Indian Health Service (IHS). The Budget significantly increases IHS’s funding over time, and shifts it from discretionary to mandatory funding. For the first year of the proposal, the Budget includes $9.1 billion in mandatory funding, an increase of $2.9 billion above 2021. After that, IHS funding would automatically grow to keep pace with healthcare costs and population growth and gradually close longstanding service and facility shortfalls. Providing IHS stable and predictable funding will improve access to high quality healthcare, rectify historical underfunding of the Indian Health system, eliminate existing facilities backlogs, address health inequities, and modernize IHS’ electronic health record system.

• Protecting Our Elections and the Right to Vote. As our democracy faces threats across the country—and to provide state and local election officials with a predictable funding stream for critical capital investments and increased staffing and services—the Budget proposes $10 billion in new elections assistance funding to be allocated over ten years. The Budget also proposes to fund an expansion of U.S. Postal Service delivery capacity in underserved areas and support for vote-by-mail, including making ballots postage-free and reducing the cost of other election-related mail for jurisdictions and voters.

The Biden Budget plan covers a lot of areas. The world will be watching to see how, and how well, these topics will be implemented and enforced.

Feel free to leave your thoughts on the president's 2023 budget. Is he covering enough? Did the president leave anything out? What would you like to see added?