Son of Govinda
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Obama: LetÂ’s Call Tax Plan the ‘Reagan Rule’ - Washington Wire - WSJ
President Barack Obama trod new ground in invoking Republican Party icon Ronald Reagan to pitch his proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy. Mr. Obama puckishly offered Wednesday to rename his proposal, currently called the "Buffett rule" after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, the "Reagan rule" if that might help persuade Republicans to support it.
"Some years ago, one of my predecessors traveled across the country pushing for the same concept. He gave a speech where he talked about a letter he had received from a wealthy executive who paid lower tax rates than his secretary and wanted to come to Washington and tell Congress why that was wrong," Mr. Obama said in remarks at the White House.
"That wild-eyed socialist, tax-hiking class warrior was Ronald Reagan," he added. "I know that position might disqualify him from the Republican primaries these days, but what Ronald Reagan was calling for then is the same thing that we're calling for now "¦ And if it will help convince folks in Congress to make the right choice, we could call it the Reagan rule instead of the Buffett rule."
Mr. Reagan supported what became the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which among other things eliminated many tax advantages, cut individual rates for many people and broadened the tax base. Mr. Obama is on a campaign this week to highlight his Buffett rule, which would require Americans earning more than $1 million a year to pay a minimum 30% overall federal tax rate.
Democratic leaders in the Senate have scheduled a vote on the measure for Monday. The White House doesn't expect it to pass because of Republican opposition. Republicans say the Buffett rule would hit people who create jobs and who already pay a large share of federal taxes, and that the higher tax would raise only a tiny fraction of the money needed to rein in the deficit.
That didn't stop Mr. Obama from urging voters Wednesday to "keep the pressure on Congress to do the right thing," even though his main goal is political: to put Republicans on the record for voting against it and use that to underscore the opposition to the measure from his likely opponent in November, Mitt Romney.
President Barack Obama trod new ground in invoking Republican Party icon Ronald Reagan to pitch his proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy. Mr. Obama puckishly offered Wednesday to rename his proposal, currently called the "Buffett rule" after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, the "Reagan rule" if that might help persuade Republicans to support it.
"Some years ago, one of my predecessors traveled across the country pushing for the same concept. He gave a speech where he talked about a letter he had received from a wealthy executive who paid lower tax rates than his secretary and wanted to come to Washington and tell Congress why that was wrong," Mr. Obama said in remarks at the White House.
"That wild-eyed socialist, tax-hiking class warrior was Ronald Reagan," he added. "I know that position might disqualify him from the Republican primaries these days, but what Ronald Reagan was calling for then is the same thing that we're calling for now "¦ And if it will help convince folks in Congress to make the right choice, we could call it the Reagan rule instead of the Buffett rule."
Mr. Reagan supported what became the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which among other things eliminated many tax advantages, cut individual rates for many people and broadened the tax base. Mr. Obama is on a campaign this week to highlight his Buffett rule, which would require Americans earning more than $1 million a year to pay a minimum 30% overall federal tax rate.
Democratic leaders in the Senate have scheduled a vote on the measure for Monday. The White House doesn't expect it to pass because of Republican opposition. Republicans say the Buffett rule would hit people who create jobs and who already pay a large share of federal taxes, and that the higher tax would raise only a tiny fraction of the money needed to rein in the deficit.
That didn't stop Mr. Obama from urging voters Wednesday to "keep the pressure on Congress to do the right thing," even though his main goal is political: to put Republicans on the record for voting against it and use that to underscore the opposition to the measure from his likely opponent in November, Mitt Romney.
