Tax the rich, Obama says; class warfare, says GOP

Drawing clear battle lines for next year's elections, a aggressive President Barack Obama on Monday demand that the richest Americans pay higher taxes to help cut soaring U.S. deficits by more than $3 trillion he promise to veto any effort by congressional Republicans to cut Medicare reimbursement for the elderly without raising taxes as well.

"This is not class warfare it's math," Obama declared, anticipate Republican criticism, which was quick in coming "Class conflict isn't leadership," House Speaker John Boehner said, in Cincinnati.

Obama's speech marked a new, challenging stance toward Republicans after months of cooperation that many Democrats complain produced too many concessions even as the plan stands little possibility of passing Congress, its populist pitch is one that the White House believes the public can support.

Obama to propose $1.5 trillion in new tax revenue

President Barack Obama's proposal to decrease long-term deficits with $1.5 trillion in new taxes is less an opening bid in a compromise than it is an opening salvo in a struggle to draw sharp contrasts with congressional Republicans.

Obama's proposal is aimed predominantly at the wealthy and come just days after House Speaker John Boehner ruled out tax increases to lesser deficits it also comes amid a clamor in his own Democratic Party for Obama to take a tougher stance next to Republicans and while the plan stands little chance of transient Congress, its populist pitch is one that the White House believe the public can support.

The core of the president's plan totals just more than $2 trillion in deficit decrease over 10 years it combine the new taxes with $580 billion in cuts to compulsory benefit programs, as well as $248 billion from Medicare.

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Obama's best jobs plan might be status quo

First, do no harm Economists say the mainly important part of the jobs plan President Barack Obama will unveil Thursday night is the renewal of two measures previously in place a cut in Social Security taxes and emergency aid for the without a job his new proposals, like spending more for transportation projects and cutting taxes for company that hire the unemployed, probably wouldn't add many jobs, they say not soon, anyway.

"These are not bold, new, big programs," says Nariman Behravesh, chief economist with IHS Global Insight, "You put the whole thing together, it's going to be pretty small, "The job market needs big help in August, the economy generate zero job growth and the unemployment rate is 9.1 percent, a level more typical for a depression than for a recovery in its third year.

For Obama, who also faces sinking endorsement ratings as he goes before a joint session of Congress and on national TV, the options are limited congress have to approve any new measures, and congressional Republicans be against new spending, "Anything that would be of a big enough size to in fact help the labor market is going to have trouble getting through Congress," says Michael Hanson, leading economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, "and anything that can get during Congress will be too small to be much help."

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Obama says GOP must back US first, create jobs

President Barack Obama used a boisterous Labor Day gathering to put congressional Republicans on the spot, challenging them to place the country's interests higher than all else and vote to create jobs and put the financial system back on a path toward growth, "Show us what you've got," he said.

In a partial preview of the jobs talking he's delivering to Congress Thursday night, Obama said roads and bridges nationwide need rebuilding and additional than 1 million unemployed construction workers are itching to "get dirty" assembly the repairs he portrayed Congress as an obstacle to getting that work done.

I'm going to propose ways to put America back to work so as to both parties can agree to, because I still believe both parties be able to work together to solve our problems," Obama said at an annual Labor Day rally sponsor by the Detroit-area AFL-CIO, "Given the urgency of this moment, given the hardship that a lot of people are facing, folks have got to get together. But we're not going to wait for them.”

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