A presidential budget is more than an expression of policy. It's also an exercise in political brand management. It aims to project the president and his administration favorably. This is certainly true of U.S. President Barack Obama's fiscal 2016 budget, whose proposals are cast as instruments of "middle-class economics." The government is your partner. It will protect your middle-class status — or help you retrieve it, if it's been lost.
In the real world, it's not that easy.
Consider going to college. It has been a part of the middle-class gospel for decades. Jobs require more skills; workers need to acquire those skills. A high-school diploma no longer suffices. For years, government has provided subsidized loans and grants to college students. Now, Obama proposes further subsidies to make two years of community college free to students. The record of existing college aid — grants and subsidized loans — raises questions about how effective this will be.
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