The Biden administration is ramping up its sense of urgency about countering China’s superior military presence in the Pacific region. The U.S. Department of Defense is asking Congress to approve $15.3 billion to fund military presence in the Pacific, more than double the amount requested last year. This is part of an overall budget proposal of $1.7 trillion which Biden says will cut $3 trillion from the US’s current deficit.

While the Pentagon's assessment calls for an additional $71.8 billion spread out over the next four years, Biden also included tax hikes in his budget - including a 1% surcharge on corporate stock buybacks, a 20% minimum tax on income and theoretical earnings, and an increase in the top income-tax rate from 37% to 39.6%.

The proposal has small- and middle-income families concerned about