President Obama made a press statement July 5 explaining his position on the budget and the debt limit increase, but that statement needs to be translated into what he really means. So here's my best effort to interpret Obama's words from that press conference:
Obama interpreted: Obama's plan for nearly trillion-dollar deficits forever — though closely matched by the Republican establishment proposal — was not the only proposal out there. Tea Party favorite Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky offered a true balanced budget proposal, one that includes no tax increases, lots of spending cuts and balances the budget within five years. Paul proposed cutting foreign aid, farm subsidies, eliminating the Departments of Commerce, HUD, Energy and Education, and — most importantly — cutting U.S. foreign troop deployments abroad. But the "substantial progress" Obama is striving for is making endless deficits much easier past the next election. That's why Rand Paul's budget proposal must be ignored and "most of us agree" (meaning most of the people in Washington, D.C.) that spending, taxes, and deficits must continue to grow.
Obama interpreted: Government "spending in the tax code" (i.e., letting the American people keep their own money) is too high; therefore, taxes must be raised. Obama deems the target of his taxes to be the "wealthiest of Americans," but he has also increased taxes on the poorest of Americans as well, by signing one of the largest increases in tobacco taxes (used disproportionately by the poor) and by allowing the Federal Reserve Bank to accelerate its inflation tax on the poor and middle class. All actual government spending is termed "investment." The balance Obama's talking about is about spending increases and tax increases.