WASHINGTON — President Obama yesterday ratcheted up public pressure on Republicans to accept tax hikes on the rich, as GOP leaders tried to stop members from caving in to the president.
“It’s too important for Washington to screw this up,” declared Obama, surrounded by about a dozen middle-class Americans he brought to the White House to hammer home his message.
Obama demanded a deal that avoids the fiscal cliff — when massive tax hikes on nearly every American automatically take effect Jan. 1 — by sparing the middle-class but jacking up tax rates on those earning more than $250,000 a year.
Republican leaders say it’s a deal-breaker.
Instead of tax hikes, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) called on Obama to ante up with proposed spending cuts.
“We all know that we’ve had this spending crisis coming at us like a freight train, and it has to be dealt with,” Boehner said. “It’s time for the president and Democrats to get serious about the spending problem that our country has.”
But Obama shows no sign of backing down, with just 33 days left before the fiscal cliff’s tax hikes and automatic spending cuts go into effect, likely wrecking the economy.
Obama and Congress created the fiscal cliff as part of a budget deal in August 2011, when both sides were unable to come up with a plan to tackle the national debt — now more than $16 trillion.
No meetings between Obama and Boehner have been scheduled.
On Capitol Hill, Boehner met behind closed door with rank-and-file Republicans and urged them to hang tough in opposition to raising tax rates on anybody.
Boehner told reporters Obama’s plan raises taxes on small businesses and would hurt the struggling economic recovery.