Buried in the pages of President Obama's most recent budget proposal is a provision that stands to severely undermine the economic health of local communities across the country.

America is not broke. We are not in a time of "scarcity" and when we buy into this fallacy, we contribute to political decisions that actually will do damage to our standard of living and that of our children.

Obama's override of congressional gridlock to invest in infrastructure might be the best thing to happen to Republicans in a long time.

Too often our recent macroeconomic policy decisions and debates have been steered by a misguided obsession with deficit reduction. Instead, as the Back to Work budget does, we need to let our nation's needs guide us and find the revenue sources and defense savings that enable us to achieve our goals.

Here we have an investment that would repair the beating heart of America -- its roads, airports, bridges, transit systems and energy grid -- and House Republicans would rather skip it and go golfing with their funders.

By taking a more permissive approach to highway tolling -- not as a mandate but as one tool in a wider toolbox of transportation funding options -- Congress can give its blessing to a trend that has already taken root in 34 states.

Despite a presidential campaign that revolved a lot on who had the better jobs plan, the political debate in Washington, driven by the party that lost the presidency, is once again dominated by the question of which party has the best plan to cut deficits. But Democrats should not forget that voters still care most about jobs.

Anytime you undertake a major public campaign, you're quickly reminded that listening is even more important than speaking.

Obama makes clear that partnerships reduce individuals tax burden. Tying the discussion to the reform of the tax code gives a sense that we can cut taxes and invest in a revenue neutral way. At least in this area.