President Barack Obama said on March 12 during an interview with ABC news that fixing the national economy takes precedence over balancing the federal budget. Said the former community organizer, “My goal is not to chase a balanced budget just for the sake of balance,” adding, “My goal is how do we grow the economy, put people back to work, and if we do that we are going to be bringing in more revenue.”
This came following a budget proposal from Wisconsin Republican Congressman Paul Ryan that seeks to balance the federal budget in ten years. Obama referred to Ryan's proposal as a “reprise of the same legislation” the former vice-presidential candidate has brought to the House of Representatives in the past, according to a report by Politico.
Using a folksy manner, the Chief Executive dispensed with the Republican proposal saying "We’re not gonna balance the budget in 10 years,”
“If you look at what Paul Ryan does to balance the budget, it means that you have to voucher-ize Medicare, you have to slash deeply into programs like Medicaid.”
Obama said Ryan's budget calls for higher taxes on the middle class. However, Ryan claims his plan is balanced and would bring about solvency without raising taxes.
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