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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    The Federal Budget: What's Important and What's Not?

    The federal budget is all about priorities, and President Obama says economic inequality is the defining issue for America's next generation. He wants to escalate the War on Poverty by closing tax loopholes. Republicans call that a tax increase that makes poverty worse and rewards refusal to work.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    The federal budget is all about priorities, and President Obama says economic inequality is the defining issue for America's next generation. He wants to escalate the War on Poverty by closing tax loopholes. Republicans call that a tax increase that makes poverty worse and rewards refusal to work. Beyond that, the budget's a chance to debate everything from Pentagon spending to how much to pay for the habitats of honeybees. As arguments over the 2015 budget sets the stage for this year's elections, will the parties manage to unify or reveal their internal divisions?

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Obama's Budget and the Politics of Poverty
    1. 0:00Crimean Parliament Votes to Join Russia and Hold Referendum
    2. 8:06The Federal Budget: What's Important and What's Not?You’re reading this
    3. 43:51What's Behind the SAT Overhaul?
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Caitlin Shamberg

      KCRW

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Jenny Hamel

      KCRW

    • Sonya Geis with wavy brown hair wearing a black dress with red accents and decorative earrings against a white background.

      Sonya Geis

      Senior Managing Editor

    • KCRW placeholder

      David Hawkings

      CQ Roll Call

    • KCRW placeholder

      Mattea Kramer

      National Priorities Project

    • KCRW placeholder

      Mike Konczal

      Roosevelt Institute

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Obama's Budget and the Politics of Poverty
    1. 0:00Crimean Parliament Votes to Join Russia and Hold Referendum
    2. 8:06The Federal Budget: What's Important and What's Not?You’re reading this
    3. 43:51What's Behind the SAT Overhaul?
    Back to To the Point