Sitting around complaining about how terrible our government is won’t solve anything. It’s time to start making sacrifices because, as they say, teamwork makes the dream work.
This has been a great year for President Obama — new jobs, low unemployment and a decrease in the deficit. This year’s success has shaped his proposal for the new budget plan.
In early February, President Obama released his plan for the 2016 fiscal year. According to the Congressional Budget Office, Obama’s budget proposal will decrease the deficit by $1.232 trillion in a 10-year period.
Its main goal will be to close the gap between the upper and middle classes by aiding the middle and working-class families. The budget will attempt to make families’ paychecks go further, and it will help to keep businesses generating new, high-paying job opportunities.
According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, about 46 percent of the reductions would come from higher revenues, while the other 54 percent would come from spending cuts. The new budget will have an effect on airfare prices, military and domestic programs, and it will even add a new tax on cigarettes. Everyone will be sacrificing for the success of our nation.
As we know, each party has its preferences on what taxes it would rather not cut or add to make this budget cut possible, but there is one aspect of the proposal that has been stirring up tremendous controversy lately.
The new budget plan will raise taxes for the wealthy and large corporations in an attempt to give the middle-class a tax break. According to the Congressional Budget Office, higher taxes for the wealthy will collect $320 billion for the low and middle class tax credits.
And before the plan was finalized, the Republican party already had this on the top of its list of complaints.
Yes, raising taxes can be extremely annoying, but it is something that has to be done. It’s called “sacrifice.”
I understand the logic that someone may not want to pay more taxes because they don’t want their money going to people that haven’t worked “as hard” as them.
But you have to remember that even though there are those people that could be considered “lazy,” there are still millions of American families who just need a helping hand.
Certain tax breaks can take away the large burden of some people not being able to provide for their families and will allow them to get back on their feet. It can help these families find somewhere to live or help send their children to school. The budget will include funding tuition-free community college, early education programs and affordable child care.
If the wealthy in this country would just willingly open their wallets for the sake of this nation, it would save everyone stress. Yes, that is easier said than done, but these taxes are going into the hands of people who need help, which could mean spending money in businesses.
At the end of the day, your money is possibly going back in your pocket. Considering the majority of American citizens identify as lower or middle-class, the wealthy need these people to be able to spend money at their businesses for them to survive. It’s time to suck it up.
There is always room for compromise, but it needs to be understood that without the higher taxes on the upper-class, it will take much longer and be much harder to decrease the deficit. It’s all about sacrifices — we all must make some eventually to preserve the free market economy.
Clarke Perkins is a 19-year-old political science freshman from New Orleans. You can reach her on Twitter @ClarkePerkins.