"Our fight goes on because this nation cannot succeed without a growing and thriving middle class," Obama said over and over again. Since winning a second term on November 6, the president has been using a similar strategy to push for increased taxes for high income Americans while preserving the existing rate for the middle class. In a news conference this past Wednesday, Obama mentioned the middle class 21 times. "We should not hold the middle class hostage while we debate tax cuts for the wealthy. We should at least do what we agree on, and that is to keep middle class taxes lower."
The president, along with the top Democrats and Republicans in Congress, have begun negotiations, hoping to avert what is being called the "fiscal cliff." The Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, is holding firm in his demand for an agreement to cut spending on some social programs, but says he is willing to compromise on taxes. "To show our seriousness, we have put revenue on the table, as long as it is accompanied by significant spending cuts," Boehner said. To shrink the U.S. budget deficit, the White House wants an additional $1.6 trillion in revenues over 10 years, about twice what the president sought in the previous negotiations, in 2011. Under that agreement, deep government spending cuts would take effect and tax breaks would expire January 1, 2013.
Stan Collender works with clients in the financial industry at the Washington-based public relations firm Qorvis Communications. He says Obama's re-election and the urgency of the impending fiscal cliff give the president a political advantage in the talks. "The tax increases will go into effect automatically, and the spending cuts will go into effect automatically," Collender said. "These are things the Republicans would like to stop, but the only way they can stop is by having legislation that the president will sign."
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