Obama Budget: Expand Schools, Reduce Prisons

By Brentin Mock, Colorlines

President Obama released his new budget proposal for the coming fiscal year that starts October 1, and it’s a relatively safe package of spending wishes carefully customized to not rock the boat for this year’s mid-term elections. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities calls it “a solid blueprint that would reduce deficits, alleviate poverty, and boost investment in areas needed for future economic growth, such as infrastructure, education, and research.”

Some of Obama’s proposals, as listed in a fact sheet sent form the White House to the press:

  • Supports a “Preschool for All” initiative, in partnership with the states, to provide all low- and moderate-income four-year-olds with access to high-quality preschool,
  • Provides 100,000 teachers in 500 districts with access to professional development to help them make effective use of new broadband connectivity,
  • Raises the minimum wage to $10.10 and indexing it to inflation thereafter, while also raising the minimum wage for tipped workers for the first time in over 20 years,
  • Expands the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for childless workers aged 21 to 24, doubling the maximum credit to $1,000.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting, meanwhile, that the GOP isn’t feeling Obama’s anti-poverty measures.

Click HERE to read the full story.

[Photo by Brookings.edu]

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