Issue Position: Fiscal Responsibility

Issue Position

"My dad had an expression, "show me your budget, and I'll show you what you value.' We need to end the War in Iraq that costs more than $100 billion a year, and end $85 billion a year in tax breaks for the wealthiest among us, and start valuing the middle class who built this country."

Joe Biden's Priorities: Restore Fairness to the Budget

Common Sense Budget and Responsible Spending

Joe Biden grew up in a middle-class neighborhood and learned that if something is really important, you have to find a way to pay for it. That's why he wants the government to adopt a Pay-As-You-Go budget. If you want to spend money in one area, you have to pay for it by reducing spending elsewhere or raising new revenue. It just makes sense.

New Priorities

The war in Iraq is costing this nation over $100 billion a year. Tax cuts for the wealthiest one percent - those who make an average of $1.4 million a year - are costing more than $85 billion a year. Joe Biden believes it is time for new priorities. By ending the war and repealing the George Bush's tax cuts for the top one percent of Americans, we will gain an additional $185 billion a year in revenue that Joe Biden would put to better uses by investing in education and making preschool available to all, improving health care, extending tax breaks for college tuition, doubling investments in alternative energy technology, upgrading neglected infrastructure and improving homeland security.

Joe Biden: Working for Responsible Budgets

Kicking Deficit Spending

Joe Biden fought against George Bush's tax cuts that have resulted in turning a record budget into record deficits.

Buiilding a Surplus and Jobs

Joe Biden worked with President Clinton to help eradicate the deficit and create 20 million new jobs.

Fighting Social Security Privatization

Joe Biden believes that we must protect Social Security and he has fought against irresponsible and risky attempts by Republicans to privatize Social Security.

Supporting Tax Laws that Make Sense

Joe Biden voted for tax reforms that:

* Helped millions escape poverty with the Earned Income Tax Credit.

* Would fix the Alternative Minimum Tax providing relief to millions of middle-income Americans.

* Encouraged innovation and competition in research and development, making America more competitive in the global economy.

Repealing the Oil Company Tax Breaks

Joe Biden confronted oil executives at a 2006 Senate hearing, asking them if they needed the billions in tax breaks George Bush and the Republicans gave them in 2005. Joe Biden then worked to repeal those special subsidies that even the oil executives acknowledged that they did not need.

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