News - National
Obama: tax hikes may be used to fight deficit
Posted: Apr 27, 2010 11:10 AM by Bea Karnes, News First 5
President Barack Obama is refusing to rule out anything -- including tax increases -- in the fight against "exploding deficits."
Obama says he wants a bipartisan fiscal commission to be free to do its work.
The president told reporters Tuesday that neither he nor the commission members would say what options remain viable. The panel is supposed to limit the deficit to $550 billion by 2015. That's about 3 percent of the total U.S. economy and would require deficit savings in the range of $250 billion or more.
The most obvious solutions, higher taxes or fewer government benefits, are the most unpopular. That's one reason the panel won't be making recommendations until after the November election. Obama says getting the job done will require putting politics aside.
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