The Final State of the Union
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UDPATE: The President and his top economic advisers have spent weeks devising the outlines of this budget. White House photographer Pete Souza tells the story of that process in a slideshow of behind-the-scenes images.
(view captions and larger images)
The President just spoke on the budget for FY 2010. Some highlights below. OMB Director Orszag and CEA Chair Christina Romer are due to speak any minute now, providing some more details.
Good news:
"We have already identified $2 trillion in deficit reductions that will help us cut our deficit in half by the end of my first term."
"We've targeted almost $50 billion in savings by cracking down on overpayments of benefits and tax loopholes."
Bad news:
"[We've] inherited a trillion-dollar deficit that will take a long time for us to close"
Short term v. long term:
"While we must add to our deficits in the short term to provide immediate relief to families and get our economy moving, it is only by restoring fiscal discipline over the long run that we can produce sustained growth and shared prosperity."
Big picture:
"In the end, a budget is more than simply numbers on a page. It is a measure of how well we are living up to our obligations to ourselves and one another. It is a test for our commitment to making America what it was always meant to be -- a place where all things are possible for all people."
