Obama’s blueprint taxes, spends

 President Barack Obama on Thursday unveiled his proposed $3.6 trillion fiscal 2010 budget. The plan:

Projects a total deficit for the current fiscal year, 2009, of $1.8 trillion – 12.3 percent of the gross domestic product. The previous post-World War II record deficit was 6 percent of GDP in fiscal 1983, considered too high at the time.

Would raise taxes on households making more than $250,000 a year, which would raise $955 billion over 10 years.

Would set aside a $634 billion reserve fund over 10 years to begin financing a national health care program. It would pay for that fund by reducing Medicare “overpayments” to private insurers; reducing Medicaid drug rebates to manufacturers; and reducing the tax break for deductions taken by households with annual income over $250,000.

Lists a $250 billion reserve fund as a placeholder estimate to support $750 billion in new spending to rescue banks. This would be in addition to the $700 billion rescue fund that was approved last fall.

Would make permanent the $400-a-person, $800-a-family Making Work Pay tax credit, which was included in the recent $787 billion stimulus program. It would offset the credit with funds from the carbon tax.

Lays the groundwork to create a future system of automatic workplace pensions in addition to Social Security. Employers would be required to enroll employees in a direct-deposit IRA.

Would phase out direct subsidies to farmers who make more than $500,000 a year.

Would spend $75.5 billion for the rest of fiscal 2009 and $130 billion for fiscal 2010 on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Would create a $1 billion- a-year high-speed rail state grant program in addition to the

$8 billion program created in the $787 billion stimulus plan. States sharing the goal of creating new high-speed rail lines include California, Washington, Texas, Mississippi, Florida, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.