President Obama is sending a $3.8 trillion budget to Congress today. The new budget predicts an average deficit over the next decade of 4.5 percent of the size of the economy.
Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich says the budget is a direct political challege by the president to an unpopular Congress.
We take a look at some of the belt-tightening that the president's budget prescribes and hear how Congress is expected to respond. We also speak to State Rep. Mike Boland of Illinois, whose district covers the Thomson correctional facility, which could be a new destination for Guantanamo Bay detainees. President Obama's new budget includes $250 million dollars to buy the facility.
Kambiz Hosseini: Iran's Jon Stewart on the Presidential Election
Overpopulation of Prisons, The History of Privacy & Democracy, Will Snowden Be Extradited?
P is for Prison: Sesame Street and Overpopulation in America's Jails
Arming the Syrian Rebels, Voices Against the War on Drugs, The Eiffel Tower as a Musical Instrument
Extradition or Rendition: How Will the U.S. Get Snowden Back on U.S. Territory?
The show is a co-production of WNYC Radio and Public Radio International, in collaboration with New York Times Radio and WGBH Boston.
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Comments [1]
One reason the budget looks so huge is that the funds for Iraq and Afganistan are now carried in the budget rather than funded by off-budget supplemental spending. While it doesn't change the overall costs it is at least a more honest accounting.
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