Afghanistan: In budget proposal, Obama to seek more money for anti-poverty programs --- The Obama administration budget to be released Tuesday will set the stage for an election-year debate over government’s role in creating economic opportunity, with President Obama calling for more federal spending to help the poor and Republicans charging that such programs waste money and foster dependency. -- In his latest request to Congress, Obama plans to seek $56 billion in fresh spending to expand educational offerings for preschoolers and job training for laid-off workers, among other priorities — the very types of programs that Republicans say have been proved ineffective. --- With his budget request, Obama is returning to the populist, bread-and-butter themes that helped him win reelection and have played to Democrats’ advantage for years. He will propose $28 billion in new spending on education, manufacturing and job training, as well as $28 billion for defense programs. He will endorse the idea of overhauling the corporate tax code to boost U.S. competitiveness and generate additional revenue to rebuild roads and bridges and create jobs. --- Obama echoed that thinking in his State of the Union address. In his budget, Obama plans to call for an expansion of the EITC so that childless adults receive more-generous benefits. He will also seek to expand other tax breaks, including the child tax credit, that benefit lower- and middle-income Americans. -- Administration officials said they would cover the cost of the proposals by closing tax loopholes that benefit the wealthy, including the “carried interest” provision, which benefits hedge-fund managers, and a loophole that permits self-employed professionals to avoid payroll taxes on the bulk of their earnings. -- Another area of agreement: Taxing the accumulated overseas profits of multinational corporations to finance an increase in spending on infrastructure projects. --- In his budget, Obama will call for more money for Head Start — and his Affordable Care Act calls for expanding Medicaid coverage in every state.