Barack Obama
Related: About this forumJohn Harwood, NYT: Obama's tax policy targets the rich.
WASHINGTON Partisan clashes over President Obamas proposed tax increases have obscured something remarkable: that the affluent Americans targeted by his policy represent a growing share of his own partys base.
You would not know it from Republican cries of class warfare swirling around Mr. Obamas new budget, which reiterates his calls for higher taxes on individuals earning more than $200,000 and households earning more than $250,000. Conventional understanding of election-season populism assumes that the president will be looking to stick it to die-hard Republicans.
snip
To make the point that he is not lashing out at opponents, Mr. Obama often notes that his proposals would raise his own taxes or those of allies like Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor. But the Democratic Partys increasing electoral success in upper portions of the income scale points to something broader: an argument that people like him have a civic responsibility to bear more of the burden of deficit reduction and to pay for government spending priorities.
It is the opposite of a pander, said Dante Chinni, the director of Patchwork Nation. And it carries risks as well as potential rewards.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/us/politics/obamas-tax-policy-targets-slice-of-his-base-the-affluent.html?ref=politics
CAPHAVOC
(1,138 posts)DevonRex
(22,541 posts)DCKit
(18,541 posts)That's about all he needs to ask the 99%.
one thing I like is that even though wall street doesn't like his proposals, it's actually becoming trendy for other wealthy people to say they are willing to pay higher taxes. They want to separate themselves from WS and the republicans.
grantcart
(53,061 posts)Pretty significant.
DevonRex
(22,541 posts)I love the line about it being the opposite of pandering.
samfarkus
(10 posts)divining the motives of ultra-wealthy people isn't difficult.
Goldman Sachs was a huge recipient of the federal bailouts
DevonRex
(22,541 posts)So I can't comment on its content.