美国总统奥巴马星期一宣布了一揽子削减赤字计划，但是国会共和党人迅速予以拒绝。奥巴马星期一在白宫的讲话中呼吁所有美国人，包括富人和企业，为政府开支承当“公平的份额”。他还威胁将否决任何削减老人健保计划的提议，除非这个提议同时建议向富人增税。奥巴马宣称，“这不是阶级斗争，而是数字问题。”
国会众议院议长、共和党人约翰.贝纳说，总统的计划将一群美国人与另一群美国人对立。共和党人一直表示，增税将妨害投资和经济增长。他们希望完全通过削减开支来削减赤字，包括削减政府退休金和给老人和穷人的健保计划，例如社会保险和老人医疗保险等。
奥巴马总统提出对富人征收更多的税，削减部分社会福利计划和削减军费一揽子计划，以便未来十年将美国的巨额债务减少3万亿美元。总统提出增加1.5万亿美元的税收，包括一些年收入100万美元以上的个人所得税税率不得低于美国中产阶级税率的条款。他还呼吁在2012年年底结束给布什政府时期对年收入25万美元以上的家庭实施的减税措施。奥巴马还表示，把在伊拉克和阿富汗的美军撤回国，最终会节省1万亿美元。
U.S. President Barack Obama announced his deficit reduction plan Monday, but congressional Republicans quickly rejected the proposal.In a White House speech, Mr. Obama called on all Americans, including the wealthy and corporations, to pay a “fair share” of the cost of government. He threatened to veto any proposal that cut medical care for the elderly unless it also raises taxes on the wealthy. Mr. Obama declared, “This is not class warfare. It’s math.”
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican John Boehner, says the president’s plan pits one group of Americans against another. Republicans have said higher taxes hurt investment and economic growth. They want deficit reduction to come entirely by cutting spending, including the cost of pension and health care programs for the elderly and poor, called Social Security and Medicare.
President Obama proposed higher taxes on the wealthy, cuts in some social programs and less military spending in a package intended to reduce the huge U.S. debt by another $3 trillion over 10 years.The president proposed $1.5 trillion in taxes, including a provision that some individuals earning more than $1 million a year no longer be allowed to pay taxes at a lower rate than middle-income Americans. He also calls for allowing Bush era tax cuts to expire by the end of 2012, which would end certain tax cuts for families making more than $250,000 a year.Mr. Obama also says he can eventually save $1 trillion by bringing American troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan.