Following news of President Barack Obama’s budget proposal to be officially unveiled next week, the fiscal policy divide appears vast between Republicans and Democrats, according to NBC News. Obama again plans to propose changes in entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare in exchange for more tax revenue, and some Republicans may support his measures to revive a grand bargain. But there is a chance that budget proposals will collapse. For instance, his new formula to raise the cost-of-living increases for Social Security benefits called "chained CPI" was part of the negotiations between Obama and House Speaker John Boehner that failed in 2011. Obama said Saturday that his proposed budget is not his "ideal plan" but added that it pushes "tough reforms" to the nation's benefit programs while closing loopholes for the rich, according to The Associated Press.
