Obama's Next Campaign: More Taxes for Rich Americans

 Obama's Next Campaign: More Taxes for Rich Americans

WHITE HOUSE — President Barack Obama's re-election campaign may be over, but his economic campaign continues.  The president is appealing to business and labor¹ leaders, lawmakers and the public to press Republicans in Congress to go along with his plan to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans. In his successful re-election campaign, Obama made relentless² calls to middle class Americans to support his program of higher taxes for the rich and continued tax cuts for everyone else.

"Our fight goes on because this nation cannot succeed without a growing and thriving middle class," Obama said over and over again.

Since winning a second term on November 6, the president has been using a similar strategy to push for increased taxes for high income Americans while preserving the existing rate for the middle class. In a news conference this past Wednesday, Obama mentioned the middle class 21 times.

"We should not hold the middle class hostage while we debate tax cuts for the wealthy.  We should at least do what we agree on, and that is to keep middle class taxes lower."

The president, along with the top Democrats³ and Republicans in Congress, have begun negotiations⁴, hoping to avert⁵ what is being called the "fiscal⁶ cliff."

The Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, is holding firm in his demand for an agreement to cut spending on some social programs, but says he is willing to compromise on taxes.

"To show our seriousness, we have put revenue on the table, as long as it is accompanied by significant spending cuts," Boehner said.

To shrink the U.S. budget deficit⁷, the White House wants an additional $1.6 trillion in revenues over 10 years, about twice what the president sought in the previous negotiations, in 2011. Under that agreement, deep government spending cuts would take effect and tax breaks would expire January 1, 2013.

Stan Collender works with clients in the financial industry at the Washington-based public relations firm Qorvis Communications. He says Obama's re-election and the urgency of the impending⁸ fiscal cliff give the president a political advantage in the talks.

"The tax increases will go into effect automatically, and the spending cuts will go into effect automatically," Collender said. "These are things the Republicans would like to stop, but the only way they can stop is by having legislation that the president will sign."

Nonetheless, the president is taking no chances. He has hosted meetings with numerous influential⁹ Americans, seeking their support. The president is most interested in gaining the backing of major corporate¹⁰ executives, many of whom are Republicans, said Collender.

"The president would love to get the business community to say to the Republicans, 'Look, we agree at this point that tax increases are needed.  Let’s stop messing around with this, because you are going to hurt the economy, hurt our sales, hurt our stock prices,''' he said.

Obama also met with labor leaders, such as AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, whose support is more assured.

"We’re committed to making sure that the middle class and workers don’t end up paying the tab for a party that we didn’t get to go to," Trumka said.

In addition, the president met with the leaders of civil rights organizations, such as the National Urban League and the National Council of La Raza, rallying their support.

And some of those who worked on the president's reelection campaign are now pressuring lawmakers, mainly Republicans, to back the president's tax proposal.

"I think we are all aware that we have some urgent business to do," said Obama. Negotiations are set to resume the last week in November.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

6 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

7 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

8 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

9 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

10 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。