he s not doing it, so therefore, his position isn t credible. we re having an extension of the bush tax cuts for everybody. i agree on the 2%, but we can t afford them for the other 98% either given the fact that half of the population, the poor and lower income don t pay income tax any way. so the progressive ought to be no more tax cuts. we can t afford them for anybody. we re going after that pentagon and we re going to cut back dramatically this huge defense establishment we don t need. neither party is doing that, so we have this silly debate going on of one fairy tale versus another. president obama said let s go big. he was ready to go big on the deficit reduction package and the republicans didn t come to the plate. in fact, paul ryan played a real role in that telling his own leadership that if we do that, this is going to walk president obama right into a second term. so president obama was willing
his position isn t credible. we re having an extension of the bush tax cuts for everybody. i agree on the 2%, but we can t afford them for the other 98% either given the fact that half of the population, the poor and lower income don t pay income tax any way. so the progressive ought to be no more tax cuts. we can t afford them for anybody. we re going after that pentagon and we re going to cut back dramatically this huge defense establishment we don t need. neither party is doing that, so we have this silly debate going on of one fairy tale versus another. president obama said let s go big. he was ready to go big on the deficit reduction package and the republicans didn t come to the plate. in fact, paul ryan played a real role in that telling his own leadership that if we do that, this is going to walk president obama right into a second term. so president obama was willing to put
i agree on the 2%, but we can t afford them for the other 98% either given the fact that half of the population, the poor and lower income don t pay income tax any way. so the progressive ought to be no more tax cuts. we can t afford them for anybody. we re going after that pentagon and we re going to cut back dramatically this huge defense establishment we don t need. neither party is doing that, so we have this silly debate going on of one fairy tale versus another. and the country is in the trouble for it. president obama said let s go big. he was ready to go big on the deficit reduction package and the republicans didn t come to the plate. in fact, paul ryan played a real role in that telling his own leadership that if we do that, this is going to walk president obama right into a second term. so president obama was willing to put i agree. he s also willing to raise taxes. go back to the old rates and let the bush tax cuts expire, which
support the position of either democrats or republicans on the tax cuts. he wants congress to work more on a deficit reduction package. martha: independent on that issue. molly, talk to me a little what the republicans are proposing. reporter: they want to extend bush-era tax cuts for everyone including top wage earners who republicans say are some of the business owners who do the hiring. in the face of 41 straight months of unemployment above 8%, the president is begging congress to let him raise taxes on the very businesses the american people are counting on to create jobs. it was the exact opposite of course of what is needed. for some reason he thinks a tax hike is his ticket to re-election. reporter: senate democratic majority leader harry reid promised there will be a vote on the president s plan before
my question, which is what you ll say is if the president wins, taxes for wealthy americans have to go up, that s going to be the basis of any grand bargain on the budget deficit, taxes have to go up. yeah. we think that here s the recipe for deficit reduction package. it s obviously revenue now tax reform means president corporate tax rate, interested in getting rid of a lot of loopholes, lowering rates if we can. yes, the wealthiest american also have to spend a little bit more, along with entitlement reform. whether it s simpson-bowles, any independent economist who says what s the recipe for long-term fiscal package, it s at its core balance and fairness. that s been the barrier. the reason we weren t able to get a big deal last year was the insistence on republicans at all costs, and by the way it s not just on the deficit, what is their single economic idea? it s to cut taxes for people like mitt romney, and somehow hope that trickles down to middle class. it didn t wor