President Obama won re-election on a campaign platform of raising tax rates on wealthy Americans. Republicans have conceded that they must fork over a fair amount of revenue, but can’t quite reconcile themselves to the idea of income tax rate increases. The Bush tax cuts are all set to expire. Defense and domestic spending will be cut across the board, including to Medicare providers, if Congress doesn’t act soon. Both parties insist they want to pass a bill that will reduce medium term deficits. But Obama also wants a bit more economic stimulus.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=93338