This afternoon, President Obama hosted his first news conference since the election, which can be watched fully here. Though some questions were asked regarding the nation's security following the Patraeus affair, the President did his best to set aside such questions and instead focus on the looming budget plans. Obama placed a large emphasis on his plans over the next four years to balance the budget and create an economic plan that will best support a "recovering economy."
Obama immediately stated in his opening remarks that he wants to pass a law "right now that would prevent any tax hike whatsoever on the first $250,000 of everybody’s income... It means that 98 percent of all Americans, and 97 percent of all small businesses won’t see their taxes go up a single dime. The Senate has already passed a law like this. Democrats in the House are ready to pass a law like this. And I hope Republicans in the House come on board, too." When asked about other possible solutions and supplements to this plan, such as closing loopholes for the top two percent, Obama made it clear that he would NOT extend tax cuts that could only hurt the economy. Just as he stressed in the debates, Obama stressed that for such a plan the math just does not add up.
I believe there are two key elements to this statement and the overall theme of the conference. First, Obama believes that ending tax hikes on the middle class can help lead to recovery. He continually stated that America should not hold the "middle class hostage" while searching for solutions to the deficit. This, leads to his second main idea. Just as he stressed on the campaign trail, Obama emphasized the importance of reaching across the aisle and working with both parties to ultimately reach a bipartisan solution. I am curious to see whether this law ultimately does get passed. Do you think that the stalemate in congress will continue through the end of Obama's first term and into his second? Some criticism Obama has received is that he tries too hard to compromise with both parties, ultimately making a solution very difficult to come across. Do you agree with this criticism? Why or why not?
6 comments:
I think that the stalemate in Congress is going to continue through Obama's second term, especially with a Republican dominant House. However, with the fiscal cliff looming so close, compromise and reaching across the aisle between the two parties seems to be the only solution to alleviate the situation before the end of the year. Although critics may claim that Obama is trying too hard to reach a bipartisan compromise, I highly doubt that a partisan plan would fare any better. If all taxes return to rates before the tax cuts of the Bush administration without modification, it is almost certain that it will have a devastating effect on the economy.
I agree with Alvin; if any positive change is to happen to help bolster the economy, the two parties need to stop butting heads in Congress and work towards compromise. All too often, I have heard biting criticisms of Obama's lack of progress in aiding the failing economy and doubts about his reelection, when the blame should not be placed solely on him. I also agree that a partisan plan would not do much to aid the economy, for the lack of Congressional consent may simply lead to further obstacles and problems later on.
I agree with Alvin in that the House being dominated by Republicans will cause the stalemate to extend into Obama's second term. And, though I do believe in compromise, I belive Obama does sometimes try too hard to reach a solution that pleases both parties. There is going to be some part that one party does not agree with. Though a bipartisan compomise would be ideal, like Alvin said, I doubt this plan would be much better. The economy is an important issue at the moment and Obama needs to come up with a solution soon before it gets even worse.
Obama's plan doesn't strike as even remotely bipartisan, and as much as a I would hope that House Republicans would finally realize that an ongoing stalemate in Congress will only hurt our country, I doubt they will. However, since they've just lost their second election in a row, I suppose it's possible that Republicans may recognize the need for change (although that's still pretty doubtful). I agree with Savanna - Obama's partisan plan probably won't pass through Congress, and he definitely needs to come up with a more plausible economic plan soon.
I think Congress could go one of two ways. As Alvin earlier predicted, the stalemate could continue into Obama's second term, especially since Republicans just lost a close election. There could be many bitter representatives striving to make Obama look bad. This could also good in another direction. As Garrett pointed out, maybe some intelligent Republicans will recognize the need for change.
I agree with Samantha that Obama cannot be solely blamed for the economy and the stalemate in Congress certainly doesn't help him either. I doubt a partisan plan will be passed through Congress, but a bipartisan economic plan (if there is such a thing) needs to be passed soon in order to salvage the remnants of our failing economy.
I'll hop on the bandwagon and agree with alvin too, i think--the stalemate will most likely continue. I don't really see why Republicans would change their attitude towards Obama just because it's his second term. As for the criticism towards Obama for "compromising too much," I think that's just silly. Compromise is important, and Obama really doesn't have much of a choice anyway. What should he do? NOT compromise? Then there will be no chance of getting anything done, and that isn't favorable for anyone. Obama should be trying to compromise and make solutions.
On a side note, I'm glad that Obama isn't going back on what he promised during the campaign.
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