Posted on 02/03/2013 3:48:25 PM PST by jazusamo
President Obama insisted Sunday that additional tax revenue will need to be part of future deficit deals, but said hikes in tax rates may not be necessary.
In a pre-Super Bowl interview with CBS, the president outlined his vision for further deficit reduction, which he said was essential, but in a way that preserves the government's ability to continue spending on key programs.
He also emphasized that the seemingly continuous stream of Washington standoffs was wreaking havoc on confidence in the U.S. economy.
Republicans have insisted that the revenue side of the deficit equation was dealt with during "fiscal cliff" talks, which resulted in a compromise that saw rates climb on the nation's top earners. But Obama flatly rejected the notion that future talks would explicitly focus on spending.
"There is no doubt we need additional revenue, coupled with smart spending reductions, in order to bring down our deficit," he said.
Obama said that a serious deficit reduction plan would combine "smart spending cuts," reforms to healthcare programs, and tax reform that eliminates loopholes and specific deductions.
"If you combine those things together, then we can not only reduce our deficit, but we can continue to invest in things like education and research and development…without raising rates again," he said.
On entitlement programs tied to healthcare, Obama suggested there were significant savings to be found through reform.
"There's a lot of waste in the system, and there's things we can do to reduce healthcare costs," he said.
Obama's interview came just days after new data from the Commerce Department found that the economy actually shrank 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of the year, driven primarily by significant drops in spending by the federal government and the defense industry. The latter category dropped 22 percent as defense contractors braced for possible sequestration spending cuts set to take effect at the beginning of the year if the "fiscal cliff" had taken effect. The deal struck to avoid the cliff delayed those cuts for two months, setting another round of legislative battles before March 1.
Obama said those sharp drops weighed on "a lot of positive signs in the economy," and said continued standoffs between the two parties were taking their toll.
"Washington cannot continually operate under a cloud of crisis, that freezes up consumers," he said. "We can't afford these self-inflicted wounds."
You're inflicting them, Barry. We can't afford you and the tax and spent Demorats.
And the sheeple think that the tax dollars will come to them and not the unions and banks where is really goes.
This lying POS ignored the deficit for four years and pretended his insane spending wasn’t causing a problem. Now he says we can get more tax revenue without raising rates. He’s insane. Yet a lot of dummies in this country are happy to believe him because it means they can keep getting benefits without having to pay for them, or having “the rich” pay for them.
There certainly is.....get rid of all the Progressives and RINO's, stop ALL Welfare programs to anyone who doesn't pay into that system, and require Voter ID to assure only those who vote LEGALLY can be counted.
While we're at it, eliminate ALL Governement Departments NOT specifically authorized by a vote of Congress.
OH B.S. additional tax revenue = MORE SPENDING.
This tax and spend is a cycle that will go on and on as long as we the people allow it.
It is TIME for a line in the sand on this issue. We need to stop this now!!!!
“Smart” is the new “common sense” code word. Can Obama define what he means by “smart?”
You're inflicting them, Barry. We can't afford you and the tax and spent Demorats.
You're inflicting them, Barry. We can't afford you and the tax and squander Demorats.
Fixed it for you, jazusamo.
Lying POS sums him up perfectly on most all issues.
At first I thought him stupid, then a hater of our country, now just plain evil.
“The rich” don’t pay for anything. By definition, by the time they have given up a sufficient large portion of their worldly goods, they are no longer “rich”, they are just some more poor shlubs driven down into the lowest common denominater of all other mankind.
why does Obama get away from liberal hack journalists without the logical follow up questions???
For example, if there is all this waste in the system, what has Obama been doing for the last four years to address the problems?? If there are all these things we can do to bring down costs, what in particular does he have in mind, and what has he been doing??
He’s the man, he is the system, he can’t rail against the system like some Saul Alinksy hack. Obama’s the man.
Thanks, you’re right on the mark.
Kick in some inflation, that’ll increase your revenue.
The list, Ping
Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list
The list, Ping
Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list
Cost of Trip?
AF1 = $1.6 Million Dollars
Backup AF1 = $1.6 Million Dollars
C-17 (for Limo, SS Vehicles and other equipment) = $1.6 (?) Million Dollars.
Round up to a cool $5 Million Dollars and a massive amount of Greenhouse Gasses, not including Obama’s Hot Air.
Another Democrat on tax cuts and revenues:
“Our true choice is not between tax reduction on the one hand and the avoidance of large federal deficits on the other. It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough revenues to balance our budget, just as it will never produce enough jobs or enough profits. Surely the lesson of the last decade is that budget deficits are not caused by wild-eyed spenders, but by slow economic growth and periodic recessions, and any new recession would break all deficit records. In short, it is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low. And the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now.”
JFK, 12/14/1962
Except now the wild eyed spenders are part of the problem.
He’s right. We do need more tax revenue. There is zero chance we can solve our problem with spending cuts. The question is how do we go about expanding the revenue base. Obama would tax the hell out of everyone. The ONLY answer is economic growth. Almost nobody in Washington has a plan to create an environment for growth.
eliminate the Dept. of Education, the EPA, Airport Security, Welfare, food stamps, and section 8 housing for starters and you don’t need any more money!
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