Obama: Not Raising Taxes Is A Form Of Government Spending

Announcing his budget plans for fiscal year 2013 in an address at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Va., President Barack Obama characterized the current income tax rates--signed into law by President Bush a decade ago--as a form of government spending.

Essentially, the president said that the federal government "spends" when it does not raise taxes.

“Right now, we’re scheduled to spend more than $1 trillion more on what was intended to be a temporary tax cut for the wealthiest two percent of Americans,” Obama said. “We’ve already spent about that much. Now we’re expected to spend another $1 trillion. Keep in mind, a quarter of all millionaires pay lower tax rates than millions of middle class households. You’ve heard me say it: Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary.”

Despite the bankruptcies of three green energy companies that received heavy doses of federal tax dollars, Obama also pledged Monday to “double down on clean energy.”

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