When Air Force One touched down in Indianapolis last Friday President Obama spread lofty goals and hefty budget increases. The President officially pitched his message of middle class economics in the state of Indiana.
Obama spoke in a town hall setting at Ivy Tech community college, with about 20 minutes of his time devoted to outlining the basics of his new budget proposal, “Middle Class Economics for the 21st Century,” and another 40 he spent answering a variety of questions from the crowd.
After being introduced to the audience by Indianapolis Mayor, Greg Ballard, who ribbed the President about his NBA team preference, Obama took to the stage and responded in kind.
“It is a great pleasure to be back in Indiana—I respect the Pacers, but yes, I am a Bulls fan,” he said. “I make no apologies.”
President Obama visited Indianapolis Friday to share his budget proposal.
SARAH BURTENSHAW / THE DEPAUW
Obama then moved into a discussion of more serious matters—namely, the current state of America’s middle class.
“Are we going to be a country where a few do incredibly well, or are we going to be a country where everyone has opportunities and everyone can succeed?” Obama asked the crowd.
The tenants of this budget proposal are childcare, education, healthcare, homes and retirement. Perhaps the most eye-catching part of the plan is Obama’s assertion that two years of community college should be free for all American citizens—provided they maintain a 2.5 GPA and uphold as-yet unspecified “attendance requirements.”
“Everyone should be able to have that opportunity, and you shouldn’t have 100,000 dollars of debt when you leave,” Obama said.
While the cheering that followed this statement from those assembled at Ivy Tech on Friday seemed to signify their agreement, not all are happy with the President’s proposal. Later that same day, Indiana Republican Party Chairman issued a statement in which he said, “The president’s recent budget proposal is a $4 trillion spending plan with no focus on the nation’s debt and no regard for the heavy burden it would place on generation of taxpayers.”
Taking into account the opposition that this plan is sure to be met within the Republican-led House and Senate, professor of political science Bruce Stinebrickner sees no possibility for it to pass—at least in its current form.
“Congress receives the budget, and then Congress does what it wants. Does the term ‘dead on arrival’ mean anything to you?”
According to Stinebrickner, the president’s budget proposal “is mostly unconnected to whatever bills get passed.”
“In the case of this particular president in this particular year with Republicans in both houses, it was probably dead even before it arrived,” he added.
President Obama visited Indianapolis Friday to share his budget proposal.
SARAH BURTENSHAW / THE DEPAUW
With that in mind, Stinebrickner speculated that the real purpose of “Middle Class Economics for the 21st Century” is to “set some markers for the Presidential election next year.”
“This is ceremonial hoopla,” he said.
Obama, though, spoke positively about the possibility of passing some version of his 2016 budget proposal, appealing to the ideals of bi-partisanship.
“Let’s roll up our sleeves and get some work done,” he said. “That’s what you elected us to do. Not to have a Washington food fight.”
Funding for this proposal would come largely from closing tax-loopholes on the top one percent of Americans, specifically what Obama called the “trust fund loophole,” which allows this top percentage to avoid paying taxes on unearned income.
“I don’t know why the folks who are most able to pay [taxes] don’t have to,” Obama said.
It is this part of the proposal, Stinebrickner stated, that might have the most effect on DePauw students and families. With its high tuition costs, DePauw draws many students from top-earning income brackets.
“This could end up basically shifting money from DePauw families to kids who would go to community college,” Stinebrickner said.
However, he does not foresee two years of free community college affecting incoming class sizes.
“DePauw students are not people who are debating between going to community college and going to DePauw. I don’t think there’s much overlap there,” he said.
Whether or not the proposal passes, Obama maintained that his budget proposal is what the country needs, not a political gimmick.
“I’m not pushing these ideas for my sake, I’m pushing them because this is where I think America needs to go.”