Douglas County Democratic Party

Talking Points: Reducing the Deficit and Meeting our Obligations

• One of the most important and urgent things we can do for the economy is get our fiscal house in order and reduce our nation’s deficit.

• The President knows that we have a unique opportunity now to do something big to solve our problem of underlying debt and deficits. He is ready to make tough decisions in order to stabilize America’s finances, but we need to act now.

• Yesterday, you heard the President make the point that the Gang of Six’s proposal, and the support surrounding it, shows that there is significant momentum behind a big, balanced approach to deficit reduction.

• While we may not agree with every aspect of their approach, the Gang of Six plan shows there is still an appetite to make the hard choices to solve our nation’s deficit problems.

• We need a balanced approach that asks the very wealthiest and special interests to pay their fair share as well, and we believe the American people agree.  We’re talking about getting rid of tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires; tax breaks for oil companies who are making some of their largest profits ever, hedge fund managers who pay lower tax rates than teachers and fire fighters, and corporate jet owners who get special tax breaks commercial airlines don’t get. These tax breaks don’t contribute to our economic growth, and it’s time to end them if we are serious about our deficits.

• Congressional Republicans, conservatives and business leaders agree that we need take a balanced approach and increase revenues in order to reduce our nation’s deficit.
  • Last week, Senator Graham said he supports generating revenue by closing tax loopholes.
  • Recently, Bill O’Reilly said, “Republicans need to accept the need to raise more revenue.”
  • Warren Buffett said, “there is plenty of room on the revenue side with wealthy people like me. We’ve never had it so good. I mean our tax rates have never been lower than this and we’ve had it for 10 years and it’s shown in the great disparity of wealth that’s occurred in the last decade or so.”

• The President is willing to make tough choices to solve the nation’s deficit problem — it’s time for members of both parties to do the same.  He’s willing to make tough choices when it comes to entitlement reform.  He put forth a framework to make Medicare and Medicaid stronger and more efficient without shifting the cost of care to our seniors or people with disabilities.

• He also supports working in a bipartisan way to strengthen Social Security for future generations.

• The President has made it clear that now is the time to lead, to reject the usual Washington positioning and political posturing, and find compromise in order to solve this problem for the American people.

• He believes that now is the moment to rise above that cynicism and show the American people that we can still do big things.

• We can’t simply kick the can down the road – that’s how we built up this debt over the last decade in the first place.

• We must take a balanced approach that includes shared sacrifice to force our government to live within its means and put our economy on a stronger footing for the future.

• We must get this done before August 2nd to ensure that America does not default on its obligations.  If America, for the first time in its history, defaults on its obligations, it would have a catastrophic impact on our economy and the financial system.

• If Congress fails to act and forces the first default in the nation’s history, it will:
  • Require the government to stop, limit, or delay payments on a broad range of legal obligations – which means the government could not guarantee it could make payments for military salaries, Social Security and Medicare benefits, interest on the national debt, and tax refunds.
  • Cause a spike in interest rates for mortgages, car loans and credit cards.
  • Hurt folks who have been putting money away in their 401(k)s to save for retirement or into accounts for their kids’ education.

7/20/2011, via The White House