Renewing his push against "trickle-down economics" that he says has failed the nation in the past, President Obama just said the Republican budget plan passed by the House last week is so conservative and so focused on cutting taxes for the rich that it makes the GOP's mid-1990s Contract With America "look like the New Deal."
You would think, the president also told news editors holding a conference in Washington, D.C., that Republicans would "show some humility" and "moderate their views." But instead, he said, they have "doubled down" on a strategy that focuses on deep cuts in spending and taxes on the rich.
The other side of the argument, championed by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is that Democrats aren't willing to cut spending and are too eager to increase taxes.
And Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, that "Obama should be ashamed of trying to score political points by attacking GOP budget when he and his Senate don't have one."
The nonpartisan FactCheck.org, by the way, has looked at the issue of whether the Republican plan does not cut taxes (as Ryan says) or "showers huge additional tax cuts on the wealthy," as White House adviser David Plouffe maintains. FactCheck's conclusion: "a nonpartisan analysis shows Ryan's plan likely would reduce taxes for high-income taxpayers."
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