Obama Gets Tough on Taxes

After Election Day, members of CWA Local 2222 rally outside Virginia Senator Mark Warner's office to remind lawmakers that working families want fairness: no cuts in Medicare and Social Security and no tax breaks for the top 2 percent.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday reaffirmed an important campaign promise: We cannot afford to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.

"Dynamic scoring," capping deductions and the closing of unidentified loopholes aren't going to get the job done. CWA agrees with the president that boosting consumer and business confidence requires telling 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses that they are not going to see their taxes go up. That's how we strengthen the economy. That's how we create jobs. That's how we restore the middle class.

During his press conference, the president rightly said, "If we get that in place, we are actually removing half of the fiscal cliff. Half of the danger to our economy is removed by that single step."

CWA President Larry Cohen said on Election Day, voters chose "a real focus on good jobs" over the "politics of division and fear."

"There's no question that we face an enormous challenge that must be resolved in the next few months," Cohen said. "The solutions to our budget dilemma can't be the burden of working and middle class families alone. We are ready to work together, but we will not endure program cuts that hurt working families, and tax cuts for the wealthiest, who, under the so-called 'grand bargain' some are calling for, still won't be contributing their fair share."