Biden's budget plan: Higher taxes on rich, lower deficits

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden released a budget blueprint Monday that calls for higher taxes on the wealthy, lower federal deficits, more money for police and greater funding for education, public health and housing.

In essence, it tries to tell voters what a diverse and at times fractured Democratic party stands for.

The bottom line: Biden is proposing a total of $5.8 trillion in federal spending in fiscal 2023, which begins in October, slightly less than what was projected to be spent this year before the supplemental spending bill was signed into law this month. The deficit would be $1.15 trillion.

There would be $795 billion for defense, $915 billion for domestic programs, and the remaining balance would go to mandatory spending such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and net interest on the national debt.

The higher taxes outlined on Monday would raise $361 billion in revenue over 10 years and apply to the top 0.01% of households. The proposal lists another $1.4 trillion in revenue raised over the next decade through other tax changes.

The 156-page plan also shows the splinters that persist in Biden's coalition and the possible gaps between the promises of what is being offered and the realities of what ultimately emerges.

The proposal includes a minimum 20% tax on the incomes of households worth $100 million or more, similar to a proposal Democrats in Congress began debating late last year.

More money would go to support law enforcement, yet bipartisan efforts at police reform have failed. The budget assumes — with a high degree of uncertainty based on forecasts made last November — that inflation at a 40-year peak gets back to normal next year.

“Budgets are statements of values,” Biden said in a statement, “and the budget I am releasing today sends...