Talk with White House Staff About Deficit Reduction and Jobs Creation

From our friends at the Coalition on Human Needs

Please join us in a conversation with White House staff about the President's New Deficit Reduction and Job Creation Plan:

2:00 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, September 22
Call 800-401-8436


The President's just-announced plan, Living Within Our Means and Investing in the Future, is a comprehensive approach to solving the nation's short- and long-term problems. It includes the American Jobs Act, legislation investing $447 billion to fund teachers and public safety workers, modernize schools and other infrastructure, target job creation in low-income communities, provide extra help to long-term unemployed, youth, and other especially vulnerable groups, and protect the jobless with an extension of federal Unemployment Insurance.

It also includes $1.5 trillion in revenues from progressive sources as part of its 10-year deficit reduction plan. You may have heard the President speak of the "Buffett rule" - seeking revenue increases to prevent millionaires and billionaires from paying a lower effective tax rate than people of modest means.

This proposal also makes cuts to various mandatory programs totaling $580 billion over ten years:

• More than $320 billion over 10 years in Medicare, Medicaid, and other health programs ($248 billion in Medicare, $51 billion in Medicaid, and between $21-$25 billion in other health care savings)
• $31 billion in reduced agriculture subsidies plus $2.1 billion in savings from conservation programs
• $42.5 billion in reduced benefits to federal employees
• and other mandatory savings.

While much of these savings avoid reductions in assistance to low-income and vulnerable people, there will be some shifting of health costs to states and other benefit reductions that will affect low- and moderate-income people. There are no cuts to SNAP/food stamps, child nutrition programs, SSI, TANF, or other low-income mandatory programs, however.

Taking into account an estimated $1.2 trillion in annual appropriations (domestic, international, and military) already approved, and $1.1 trillion the Administration is counting as savings from the reduction in troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, $430 billion in lowered interest payments because of reduced deficits, AND the nearly $450 billion in increased jobs spending, the total net savings is estimated at $4.4 trillion over 10 years.

Listeners will be able to ask questions. Please take this opportunity to learn more and share your opinions with a White House policy expert. Please forward this to others in the human needs community.

White House Fact Sheet about the President's plan: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/joint_committee_reportfact_sheet.pdf

Full Obama Administration Proposal (80 pages): http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/jointcommitteereport.pdf