President Biden speaks to the crowd at a rally at the Pratt-Pullman Yard in Atlanta on March 9. An earlier version of this article gave the wrong total for the budget proposal. It is $7.3 trillion, not $7.2 trillion. The article has been corrected.
That spending would be more than offset by dramatically increasing taxes on the wealthiest individuals and corporations, the White House said. Biden’s budget would increase the minimum tax on billion-dollar corporations to 21 percent from 15 percent. It would raise taxes on U.S. multinationals’ foreign income to 21 percent from 10.
“Imagine what that could do for America,” Biden said in the address. “Imagine a future with affordable child care. Millions of families can get — they need to go to work to help grow the economy. Imagine a future with paid leave because no one should have to choose between working and taking care of a sick family member. Imagine a future of home care and elder care and peoples living with disabilities so they can stay in their homes and family caregivers can finally get the pay they deserve.
Biden’s administration has been dogged by persistent inflation, though that’s begun to cool in recent months. Prices rose 3.1 percent in January compared with the year before, a slower increase than 2023′s 3.4 percent annual rate — and far below the post-covid and 40-year peak of 9.1 percent — but still higher than analysts expected.Conservatives argue that more government spending, and more social programs, will drive up inflation even more by injecting money into the economy.