about Barack Obama

President Barack Obama unveiled a plan for debt reduction Monday which would tax individuals earning more than $1 million annually at least as much as middle class families–perhaps alleviating pressure on young workers to shoulder decades of national debt.
“We can't just cut our way out of this hole,” Obama said, referring to the national deficit. “It's going to take a balanced approach. If we're going to make spending cuts, many of which we wouldn't make if we weren't facing such large budget deficits, then it's only right that we ask everybody to pay their fair share.”
The President emphasized that his proposed minimum tax rate for the wealthy fits into a wider plan for debt reduction.
"It's a plan that reduces our debt by more than four trillion dollars, and achieves these savings in a way that is fair: By asking everybody to do their part, so that no one has to bear too much of the burden on their own," Obama said.
Congressional Republicans, who have recently pushed vigorously to reduce the national debt, responded negatively to the plan, calling it a political move intended to splinter the electorate and carry votes during an election season.
“I don't believe that class warfare is leadership,” said House Speaker John Boehner.
The administration's plan was foreshadowed in July by a widely-circulated New York Times column by business magnate Warren Buffett, who is consistently ranked as one of the wealthiest people in the world. In the column, Buffett called on the wealthy to contribute a larger portion of taxes.
“My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress,” Buffett wrote. “It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.”
The White House has dubbed the proposed minimum tax on millionaires the “Buffett Rule.”