Obama Struggling to Keep No-Tax Pledge
- Phillip Elliot - Associated Press
- Aug 4, 2009
Washington (AP) - President Barack Obama is struggling to find a way to pay for an overhaul of the nation's health care system without violating his campaign promise not to raise taxes on the middle class.
Obama's dilemma was highlighted this week when two top economic advisers refused to rule out a middle class tax hike as a possible way to pay the health care overhaul bill or to reduce the rapidly escalating federal deficit. They were quickly overruled by a White House that insisted Obama intends to keep his campaign promise.
The scene underscored the peril of Obama's refusal to endorse specific proposals put forth by lawmakers to pay for a heath care overhaul that extends coverage to the uninsured and achieves the other broad goals he's outlined. Without a firm plan the White House can call its own, Obama has exposed himself -- and the officials who speak for his administration -- to an intense scrutiny of their every word.
For months, Obama has said that controlling rapidly escalating health cares costs is the cornerstone to bringing the federal deficit under control. And he's promised that paying for the changes won't add to the current deficit.
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