Obama: Budget balances cuts, tax increases

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says his soon-to-be-released budget, already criticized by friends and foes, is not his "ideal plan" but offers "tough reforms" for benefit programs and scuttles some tax breaks for the wealthy.

That's a mix, he said Saturday, that will provide long-term deficit reduction without harming the economy.

In his first comments about the 2014 spending blueprint he's set to release Wednesday, Obama said he intends to reduce deficits and provide new money for public works projects, early education and job training. "We can do both," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address.

Obama's plan for the budget year that begins Oct. 1 calls for spending cuts and revenue increases that would result in $1.8 trillion in deficit reductions over 10 years, replacing $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts that are otherwise poised to take effect over the next 10 years.

Counting reductions and higher taxes that Congress and Obama have approved since 2011, the 2014 budget would contribute $4.3 trillion to total deficit reduction by 2023.

Obama's plan includes $580 billion in new taxes that Republicans oppose. There's also a new inflation formula, rejected by many liberals, that would reduce the annual cost of living adjustments for a range of government programs, including Social Security and benefits for veterans.

In his address, Obama made no mention of the effect his budget would have on Social Security and other social safety net programs.

His remarks reflected the White House's argument that Obama's blend of tax increases and spending cuts have widespread public support and will ultimately change the terms of the fiscal debate in Washington.

"My budget will reduce our deficits not with aimless, reckless spending cuts that hurt students and seniors and middle-class families, but through the balanced approach that the American people prefer, and the investments that a growing economy demands," he said.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback delivered the Republican radio and Internet address, saying, "The ideas on how to fix the federal government are now percolating in the states."