On Wednesday, President Obama unveiled his deficit reduction plan as a plausible alternative to the GOP’s cruel budget proposal delivered a week earlier. That plan, presented by House Budget Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), showed that the GOP isn’t interested in cutting the deficit; they would pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans with spending cuts for services that benefit the elderly, the working-poor and a beleaguered middle-class. Even the non-partisan Congressional Budget Offices estimates it would increase the deficit over 10 years. Please check out my post, “Fighting for a People’s Budget,” outlining alternatives to the GOP’s reverse Robin Hood agenda.

When President Obama spoke of “shared sacrifice” this week, two-thirds of the cuts he proposes to reduce the deficit with would come from education, health and other social programs while a paltry one-third would come from our bloated defense budget. This week, we ask in our lead editorial, “Whose Shared Sacrifice?

With a government shutdown averted, the budget compromise calling for $38.5 billion in spending cuts passed by Congress on Thursday, touted as “the largest annual spending cut in history,” is now headed to President Obama’s desk for approval. And yet, as I argued this week in the Washington Post, somewhere along the way we lost the point of having this debate in the first place: a need for a clear strategy to build the economy and revive the middle class.

Also this week…

SLIDESHOW: 7 Corporate Tax Evaders

Tax Day is right around the corner. This week, we’re reminded that while Washington continues to tell Americans to tighten their belts, some of the country’s most profitable corporations aren’t paying their fair share of taxes. Who are they? Be sure to look at our slideshow, looking at seven corporate tax dodgers. And let’s not be fooled: by restoring saner corporate tax policy, we wouldn’t have to balance the budget on the backs of struggling Americans. The slideshow is available here.
 
AWARD: The Nation Nominated for Best Political Coverage in Utne’s 2011 Independent Press Award

This week we received word that The Nation has been nominated for Best Political Coverage in Utne Reader’s 22nd Annual Independent Press Awards. And we’re in good company. Nominees include Dissent, In These Times, Mother Jones, The American Conservative, The American Prospect, The New Republic and The Progressive. We’re honored for the recognition. Winners will be announced May 18th at the MPA-Association of Magazine Media’s Independent Magazine Media Conference in San Francisco. Congratulations to all our co-nominees.

BLOG: Tax Day Activism

Guest-blogger Allison Kilkenny continues to bring us the latest on US Uncut, which most recently pulled off a clever hoax with the cultural activist duo The Yes Men. They widely circulated a false AP report stating that General Electric would refund its entire $3.2 billion tax return. Wouldn’t that be something! Be sure to read Allison’s report here. More actions are planned across the country for Friday, over the weekend, on Tax Day this Monday, led by US Uncut, MoveOn and others. Be sure to read my colleague Peter Rothberg’s post, “A Primer on Tax Day Activism” for a powerful look at what many will be doing around the country.

WELCOME: Jamelle Bouie

We’re pleased to welcome Knobler Fellow and guest-blogger Jamelle Bouie, who is also a Writing Fellow at The American Prospect. Bouie’s specialty is US politics—with a focus on parties, elections and campaign finance. His writing has appeared in The Washington Independent, CNN.com, and in Ta-Nehisi Coates’ blog at the Atlantic. Be sure to head to The Nation’s group blog, The Notion, and check out his latest post, “Democrats Prepare to Embrace Anonymous Campaign Contributions.” Read it here.

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