President Obama’s proposed 2016 budget expands government programs too much, which will only increase the area’s reliance on those programs and not help the nearly 58 percent of Horry County resident who are low income or lower middle-class, said U.S. Rep. Tom Rice.

Rice, R-S.C. whose district includes Horry County, is a member of the House Budget Committee. He said in a news conference by phone Monday that the president’s proposal — pegged as “Middle Class Economics” — doesn’t properly address the nearly 30 percent of Horry County residents who are considered lower middle class nor the 28 percent considered low income, according to statistics provided by the American Community Survey.

“I think the only way to get those people out of poverty, or the lower end of the income scale, is to expand our economy,” Rice said. “The president’s plan is to tax more and to add more government programs. That’s what he does time after time after time.