Obama Puts First Budget on Table

The budget would continue much of the Bush-era tax cuts at a cost of $2.7 trillion, although top earners would see their tax rates return to levels similar to those under President Bill Clinton.

President Barack Obama on Thursday unveiled his first budget, vowing to enact broad cuts in spending while continuing to hold onto "investment" priorities he touted during the campaign.

"No part of my budget will be free from scrutiny or untouched by reform," Obama said during remarks at the White House. "We will each and every one of us have to compromise on certain things we care about."

But Obama said he would cut "what we don't need, to pay for what we do," adding, "What I won't do is sacrifice investments that will make America stronger, more competitive and more prosperous in the 21st century."

Obama said such spending on energy, education and health care initiatives has been too long neglected. "These investments must be America's priorities," he said.

The budget assumes a massive $1.75 trillion deficit this year, and the fastest accumulation of debt in the nation's history.

Although annual deficits would drop to $533 billion in 2013, they would then begin to rise through the rest of the decade, and the federal debt would hit $17 trillion in fiscal 2013, up from $10 trillion at the end of fiscal 2008. The debt would hit $23 trillion by the end of the decade - about $75,000 for every American alive today.