Washington (CNN) — The plan wasn’t even officially out before the criticism started rolling in.
President Barack Obama’s proposed $3.7 trillion budget was slammed by the left and the right today. Outraged liberals called it a callous assault on the poor; dismissive conservatives labeled it a debt-riddled assault on future generations.
Which raises the question: Is Obama’s budget blueprint exactly what the president needs to capture the broad political center in the runup to 2012?
The president’s fiscal year 2012 budget would cut deficits by $1.1 trillion over the next decade, according to White House estimates. Two-thirds of the deficit cuts would come from spending reductions; a third would come from tax hikes.
The plan includes a five-year freeze on nonsecurity discretionary spending. Some programs, such as low-income heating assistance, would face the budget knife. New limits would be placed on deductions for home mortgage interest and charitable contributions.
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But the most expensive and politically popular programs — including Medicare and Social Security — would remain largely untouched, against the recommendations of Obama’s own deficit reduction commission.
While it trims annual deficits, the president’s budget would still add $7.2 trillion to the nation’s publicly held debt by 2021.
