Obama budget: Paradigm shift from budget cutting to employment creation

In a bid to publicize his election-year budget, President Barack Obama on Monday vowed to divert more money towards infrastructure creation, community colleges, research and development and job trainings and skill development. The move appeared to sum up his paradigm shift from budget slashing to employment creation.

The president got his budget plan delivered to Capitol Hill. The document was reportedly accompanied by a memo about expediting the current economic revival and making deficit curtailing preparations for the coming year.

According to reports, Obama’s $3.8-trillion budget proposal vows to slash the financial shortfall partially as his first term comes to an end and anticipates a $1.3-trillion shortfall in financial year 2012 and $901 billion in 2013.

President Obama has pointed to his plan of increasing taxes on rich people and several companies, triggering an ideological skirmish with the Republicans that would not come to an end before the Nov. election.

The president’s budget proposal to boost taxes on the wealthy positions him at loggerheads with the GOP presidential aspirants, who have all vowed to introduce systems that would bring down taxes but likely add to the national monetary shortfall.

Obama promised a diverse energy plan that takes in fossil fuels, cutting more than $40 billion in tax exemptions for coal, gas and oil manufacturers in the next ten years. This, he said, would enable the government to focus on spending more on alternative energy and conservation.

“We need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by ending the subsidies for oil companies and doubling down on clean energy that generates jobs and strengthens our security,” Obama said.

The president said that one strategy to expedite growth is to invest $8 billion into 2-year colleges in order to develop and polish the skills of workers particularly for the industries in their neighborhoods.

"At a time when our economy is growing and creating jobs at a faster clip, we've got to do everything in our power to keep this recovery on track," Obama said while addressing a throng at a community college in northern Virginia. "By reducing our deficit in the long term, what that allows us to do is to invest in the things that will help grow our economy right now. We can't cut back on those things that are important for us to grow."