For all his claims to want higher taxes only on millionaires, President Barack Obama really wants to go far down the income ladder to avoid reducing the cost of government.
He made that clear Monday in proposing a $3.8 trillion federal spending plan for fiscal 2013.
President Obama insists he wants to shave deficit spending, but the details of his plan show he has no such intention. It calls for an average of $400 billion a year reduction of the federal spending deficit over the next 10 years.
That is a mere fraction of the total deficit - which is a moving target to define but stands in the neighborhood of $1.3 trillion a year.
Yes, you read that correctly. President Obama proposes spending $3.8 trillion next year, and passing on a full third of that cost to our children and grandchildren by simply piling onto the national debt.
And let's not forget that we are doing that year after year. The national debt stands at $15.3 trillion and is growing.
By the way, President Obama talks about deficit reduction, but does not propose getting started right away. His 2013 request of $3.8 trillion in spending is slightly above current levels.
Yes, you read that correctly, too. Instead of reducing the cost of government, President Obama wants $1.5 trillion in higher taxes. That would leave actual cost-cutting at a puny $250 billion a year.
And it is not just millionaires the president wants to burn. Any household with an annual income over $250,000 would be hit with tax increases under his plan.
Now, $250,000 is a lot of money - but it isn't millionaire status by a long shot. These days, that income is considered high middle-class in many regions of the country.
Congress should reject President Obama's plan, which amounts to a strategy in disguise to continue massive, irresponsible growth in government and our national debt.