Obama urges rich to share tax pain
A combative President Barack Obama has demanded that the richest Americans pay higher taxes to help cut soaring US deficits by more than three trillion US dollars as he drew clear battle lines for next year's elections.
A combative President Barack Obama has demanded that the richest Americans pay higher taxes to help cut soaring US deficits by more than three trillion US dollars as he drew clear battle lines for next year's elections.
He promised to veto any effort by congressional Republicans to cut government health care benefits for the elderly without raising taxes as well.
"This is not class warfare. It's maths," Mr Obama declared, anticipating Republican criticism, which was quick in coming.
"Class warfare isn't leadership," House Speaker John Boehner said, in Cincinnati.
Mr Obama's speech marked a new, confrontational stance toward Republicans after months of cooperation that many Democrats complained produced too many concessions.
While the plan stands little chance of passing Congress, its populist pitch is one that the White House believes the public can support.
The president's proposal, which he challenged Congress to approve, would predominantly hit upper-income taxpayers and would also target tax loopholes and subsidies used by many larger corporations.
It would spare pensioners from any changes in Social Security retirement benefits, and it would direct most of the cuts in Medicare spending to health care providers, not its elderly beneficiaries.
Benefit programmes would not be untouched as Mr Obama's plan would reduce spending for those, including Medicare and Medicaid, the government health care programme for the poor, by 580 billion US dollars.
His plan also would count savings of one trillion US dollars over 10 years from the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.