Obama budget aims to kickstart deficit-reduction talks

By Jeff Mason and Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama proposed a $3.77 trillion budget on Wednesday that combines controversial cuts to social safety net programs with tax increases on the wealthy in a package the White House hopes will jumpstart deficit-reduction talks. The proposal, an annual attempt to identify and fund the president's policy desires, is unlikely ever to become law. Its deficit cutting measures mirror an outline Obama put forward last year that was rejected by John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives. …