President Obama spoke from the White House on Friday for the first
time since his reelection, saying he has invited Congressional leaders
to discuss how to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff
Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images
In President Obama’s first weekly address since he was reelected, he
said that his victory at the polls demonstrate Americans agree with him
that the middle class should get a tax cut but the richest Americans
should be forced to pay more. “If we’re serious about reducing the
deficit, we have to combine spending cuts with revenue —and that means asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more in taxes,” Obama said.
“I will not ask students or seniors or middle-class families to pay
down the entire deficit while people making over $250,000 aren’t asked
to pay a dime more in taxes.” (Watch full address after the jump.)
The president insisted he’s “open to compromise and new ideas” but
noted that he wil not “accept any approach that isn’t balanced.” The
address came a day after both Obama and House Speaker John Boehner gave
signs they would be willing to compromise on their tax stances in order
to avoid a fiscal crisis at the end of the year. Yet it isn’t clear a
compromise on taxes is within Boehner’s plan after he said raising tax
rates “will destroy jobs in America,” points out the Associated Press.
For now, Obama has invited Republicans and Democratic congressional
leaders to the White House next Friday to begin discussing how they will
work together to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Yet he has made it clear he wants the House of Representatives to
immediately pass a Senate measure that would extend tax cuts on
individuals making less than $200,000 and couples with revenue below
$250,000.
What may raise problems though is that Obama isn’t the only who is
touting his mandate. Boehner also said Friday Republicans had won a
mandate by keeping control of the House, reports the New York Times.
“Raising tax rates will slow down our ability to create the jobs that
everyone says they want,” Boehner said, emphasizing that lawmakers need
to raise revenue by closing loopholes and limiting deductions.
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