Obama: "Real differences" remain on debt deal

CBS

President Obama has invited Republican and Democratic congressional leaders to the White House for a meeting Thursday to work through the "real differences" that he says remain to get a deal done to raise the debt ceiling.

Appearing in the White House briefing room Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Obama said he hoped that "everybody's going to leave their ultimatums at the door" at the meeting and work toward a deal.

The president cited "reports" that some members of Congress "want to do just enough to make sure that America avoids defaulting on our debt in the short term, but then wants to kick the can down the road when it comes to solving the larger problem of our deficit."

"I don't share that view," he said, saying that lawmakers' tendency to avoid touch problems is what drives the American people "nuts" about Washington.

The comments appeared designed to beat back efforts to postpone a large-scale deal ahead of the Aug. 2 deadline set by the administration for raising the debt ceiling. Democrats are reportedly offering up tens of billions of dollars' worth of reductions in Medicaid and Medicare programs in exchange for concessions from the GOP.

"I believe that right now we've got a unique opportunity to do something big," Mr. Obama said Tuesday. He added "trillions in savings over the next decade" are necessary to start seriously addressing America's deficit and debt, and that "a balanced approach" is necessary to reach it.

A "balanced approach" means that in addition to spending cuts, Mr. Obama believes there should be tax increases to increase revenue - something Republicans have said are off the table. In addition to cutting spending in domestic, defense and entitlement programs, Mr. Obama called for lawmakers to "take on spending in the tax code," which he described as "spending on certain tax breaks and deductions for the wealthiest Americans."

In a statement following the president's comments, House Speaker John Boehner said, "The legislation the President has asked for - which would increase taxes on small businesses and destroy more American jobs - cannot pass the House, as I have stated repeatedly."

"The American people simply won't stand for it," said Boehner. "And their elected representatives in Congress won't vote for it. I'm happy to discuss these issues at the White House, but such discussions will be fruitless until the President recognizes economic and legislative reality."

Mr. Obama said Tuesday that both Democrats and Republicans need to leave their "comfort zones" to achieve "real compromise," adding, "I'm ready to do that. I believe there are enough people in each party that are willing to do that."

He said he hoped that at Thursday's meeting, all parties will eschew "political rhetoric" to find a way to do what is needed for the American people.

"This should not come down to the last second," he said. "...We know that it's going to require tough decisions. I think it's better for us to take those tough decisions sooner rather than later."

Administration officials say that the framework for a deal needs to be in place by roughly July 22 in order to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit by August 2. Crossing that deadline, the administration says, could throw the economy into turmoil and mean default to creditors, the shutdown of much of the government and the stoppage of Social Security and other payments.

Invited to Thursday's meeting are Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL, Sen. Minority Leader McConnell, R-KY, Sen. John Kyl, R-AZ, House Speaker John Boehner, R-OH, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-VA, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, and Congressman Steny Hoyer, D-MD.

All are expected to attend, though a Congressional aide said of Boehner, "He expects to go but questions the usefulness of the meeting."

Cantor spokesperson Laena Fallon said "Eric plans on going to the White House on Thursday and will tell the President directly that a tax increase simply will not pass the House."

[SparkysMom]

The Republican aversion to increasing taxes on the rich individuals and oil corporations of America ... has absolutely nothing to do with job creation. This is false rhetoric. Wake up America! The Propaganda is ripe and you should be able to smell it.

[mickrussom]

The key difference is this radical socialist marxist seditious traitor Obama is making the USA into junk debt like greece with his racist welfare state.

[aldrich617]

The Private Sector has destroyed the Great American
Jobs Mechanism finally and forever by its greed and
technical acumen. The race to the bottom in numbers
of people employed by the S&P 500 continues unabated,
live workers being replaced by robots or computer programs .
These jobs will never come back. At some companies a
job seeker cannot even aspire to the position of parking lot
attendant.

The permanent destruction of millions of modest jobs
and the potential Demand for goods and services that
they represent means that there is very little need to invest
in corporate expansion, since there are too few people left
who can get the credit needed to buy anything. Corporations
will sit on their cash, not create new jobs to make products
that cannot be sold.

About the only thing left that might give the rich a handsome
return on investment is a massive add campaign based on the
fiction of TAXES = JOB LOSS. Marginal changes in personal
and corporate tax rates do not actually affect employment rates
much at all. So the big GOP plan to make the economy better
by making it worse amounts to simply convincing the public that
the story-line of taking the money of many government employees
and Medicare recipients, and putting it into the pockets of a few
of the super-rich really makes sense. Sadly, the odds are that
the rich folk that caused our economic calamity will be heavily
rewarded (again) for doing so.

[pasha128]

SirWilk; if the credit card is such an issue for you how can we trust Republicans who in the last 3 presidents have at best only managed to hold the RATE OF INCREASE in the national debt to double their higest predecessor. After you take Bush's future commitments off of Obamas records and put them back on Bush's where they belong Obama's $1.3 Trillion in debt over 2 1/2 fiscal years is $0.52 TRILLION in debt a year less than Bush's average based on the true figure of $7.2 Trillion in debt of $0.9 TRILLION a year. These figures still lack accounting for giveaways very favorable loans made by the fed under emergency programs each president that have not yet been identified to my knowledge.

Even using the false $5.7 TRILLION dollar figure for the BUSH fiscal years Bush's rate of adding to the national debt was $0.71 TRILLION a year which is still considerably higher than Obama's $0.52 Trillion a year.

[pasha128]

If Obama averages less than between $1.342 TRILLION and $1.8 TRILLION a year in additional debt he will have outperformed Reagan and both Bushes when it comes to reducing the rate of INCREASE of deficit spending achieved by the most frugal of the last 6 Republican Presidents from all their predecessor's high water marks; President George H W Bush who only DOUBLED the previous highest rate of deficit spending (Reagan's) of the last 6 presidents. Clinton and Carter both share the lowest rates of deficit spending of the last 6 presidents. Obama's rate is currently between the two Bushes in second plac; But in fairness it took Clinton 6 years to begin to revers the harm done by Reagan and Bush the Elder. With George W Bush quadrupling or Reagan's spending I doubt any president will completely reverse the increases that are now part of the US Ecomony in 8 years without some serious changes in the political climate especially on the part of the "something for nothing" TEA PARTY REPUBLICANS and there namesake predecessor republicans that have accounted for at least $10 TRILLION of the current $14 TRILLION DEBT.

[SirWilk44]

Tax and spend liberals. Take the government credit card away. They are like a kid in a toy store with it.

[dj_chi]

Every GOP president over the past 40 years has INCREASED the size of government & spending - while hiding behind the party line of wanting smaller government and less spending. Who's the kids???

[pasha128]

Two presidents out of the last 6 (3 REPUBLICANS and 3 DEMOCRATS have managed to quaduple the highest of their predecessors contributions to the national debt. Reagan quadrupled Carters $0.22 Trillion with an at the time WHOPPING $1.7 TRILLION in debt. Bush in his 8 fiscal years only managed to triple Reagan's increases to the debt. But unlike prior Presidents Bush left a legacy of $1.5 TRILLION in additional debt to be incurred by future president's (over a TRILLION for his IRAQ sofa, $0.2 TRILLION for his tax cuts and $0.3 TRILLION for his and the REPUBLICAN congresses 2003 MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG PROGRAM). Bringing Bush's overall contribution to the National Debt up from $5.7 Trillion to around $7.2 TRILLION to date and $7.2 Trillion QUADRUPLES Reagan's deficit spending. Even president Bush the Elder managed to Double REAGAN's rate of deficit spending by spending an equal amount in 1/2 the time.

[venusvegasvada]

Vote all the bums out.

[lami987]

Republicans are going to do anything to stop Obama from improving US economy so that they hope they can control the White House, Senate and the house of rep. Their calls for reducing deficit and debt are all empty political calls and are not sincere. Our economy is almost in total ruin mainly caused by republican's unfunded tax cuts. The ruin of our economy started in earnest when Reagan took office. Before Reagan our debt was $900 billion. That amount was the amount accumulated over more than a century. After Reagan's tax cuts he and 1st. Bush quadrupled our debt in 12 years. Then came Clinton who was lucky enough to be able to pass a tax increase on wealthy Americans. He straightened the mess left by Reagan and 1st. Bush. He balanced our budget and accumulated a big budget surplus during his second term. Unfortunately balanced budget and surplus disappeared almost instantly after 2nd. Bush took office and implemented his tax cut. Every single republican president after Carter and every single republican tax cut only led to more borrowing and debt. Reagan talked big disapproving of our debt at that time which was "only" $900 billion but he was the originator of our out of control borrow and spend policies. Now republicans are again singing the same tunes as Reagan did. Warren Buffetts, one of the richest Americans, said his tax rate was lower than that of his receptionist. Instead of fixing fairness in our tax system republicans continue to reward their wealthy donors.

[simpleconservative]

You live in LaLa land. The debt when Reagan took office was 5 trillion. He doubled revenue to the treasury and they spent it plus 20% How anyone can be as ignorant as you can only be placed at the feet of the main stream media. Look it up and next time you post you will not appear to be as ignorant of reality as you are!

[pasha128]

The debt when Reagan took office was $5 TRILLION???? -- next lie please.

When Reagan took office the national debt was $1.137 Trillion dollars when he left the debt was $2.867 TRILLION Over $1.7 TRILLION in debt for President Reagan. Bush the Elder raised the debt to $4.351 Trillion in a half the time it took Reagan to to deficit spend a similar sum. Clinton managed to ween the nation back to less than Reagan's rate of deficit spending when His budget years ended at $5.7 TRILLION with a projected payoff date for the debt. Bush the Younger who was the first president to support WARS and ENTITLEMENTS on the credit card ballooned the debt to $11.5 TRILLION at the end of his budget years coming close to quadrupling Reagan's and Doubling Bush the Elder's rate of deficit spending. Note the $11.7 TRILLION does not include another Trillion or so diring Obama's term to satisfy Bush's binding SOFA with IRAQ that was spent in FY2009, FY2010 and FY2011 (bush never managed to put his war spending into the budget -- it was always in supplimentals off the budget) and another 1/2 a trillion in Bush Tax cuts and Bush's ENTITLEMENT on the Credit Card (Medicae Prescription Drugs); making Bush accountable for raising the national debt to $13 TRILLION dollars (through his actions during his Presidency) assuring his quadrupling Reagan's rate of deficit spending with a whopping $7.3 TRILLION in debt tied directly to his presidency already and if the 2011 TEA PARTY REPUBLICANS get their way (,and reverse the Democrat's cuts to pay for Bush's Entitlement,) Bush's Entitlement will be driving up the national debt for decades to come.

[SirWilk44]

It is so funny. The liberals were crying every day about the poor terrorist at GITMO. Now, you do not hear a word about the issue anymore. It is like, now that Oblamer is POTUS, let those dirty jokers stay their for life.

Also, Code Pink and Cindy Sheehan were on the news everyday about Iraq. Where did they go all of a sudden?

[nasadawg]

They have to find work. They are up in Canada walking the hwy's.

[RobAla]

You bet there are real differences!

Republicans want to reduce the size and scope of a massively bloated federal government, and they refuse to stifle the meager job growth in the private sector by additional taxes.

Democrats want to maintain a massively bloated federal government, and they are willing to sacrifice job growth in the private sector by increasing taxes (just to keep the bloated and wasteful federal spending where it is.)

I am not a member of either party, and as an independent conservative, the Republicans are the only ones making any sense right now.

[SirWilk44]

You are so correct. They blast Paul Ryan for his Medicare plan. They resort to their usually scare tactics about killing granny.

We all know the program is going bankrupt. What is their plan? I will tell you, there is no plan. Just use their liberal scare tactics.

Same goes for Social Security. What is their plan for preserving the system we know is going bankrupt? None.

[pasha128]

Who started the Killing Granny tactics -- Your side Sir Wilk and the Democratic claims are based quite solidly in fact compared to the Republican Death Panel claim for requiring payments for doctors to periodically discuss end of life options with patients that CHOOSE to do so. On the Republican side which of the following is the lie --- we heard claims over two weeks ago that vouchers will allow ALL seniors including those with pre-existing conditions to get less expensive medical care from the private sector insurers (which while being contrary to the facts when Medicare were created are bolstered further by BUSH's ENTITLEMENT passed by REPUBLICANS in 2003 that prohibited Medicare from receiving the same volume discounts applicable to private insurers and even the military in the VA program) Or in the last two week REPUBLICAN calls for increased payroll taxes to reinstate the Medicare Advantage program to pay PRIVATE INSURERS MORE than Medicare to handle basically the same patient needs -- meaning private insurance in fact does NOT and will NOT COST LESS for seniors.

[SirWilk44]

Oblamer cares more about the rich than you believe. He sure is not letting in middle class, old people, or poor kids to his 25K a plate campaign dinners for free. Also, he extended the Bush tax cuts. Why did he not go after GE for not paying any taxes on billions in profits. He then gives their CEO a job on his "job council". I am sure this is the hope and change you wanted.

[moretruthnow]

President Obama can't wave his hand and get things done. He has rabid as a mad dog haters in the GOP for greed, corruption and more harm and damage to the country because of their agenda against him and against this country but for billionaire polluters.

[hologram5]

@moretruthnow: you haven't a clue of what you speak. Obama is the biggest racial divider I've ever seen. He's not changed his domestic policies from Bush at all. He's tripled our deficit in three years, he's expanded the bloated gov't by 15%. Yeah, he's a real winner. NOT!