How does President Obama plan to reduce the deficit?
A simple enough question — but don’t ask White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, who rebuffed more than a dozen attempts to preview Obama’s remarks at George Washington University Wednesday.
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Carney dismissed as speculation reports that Obama would essentially adopt the recommendations of his own deficit commission.
However, he made clear that Obama’s blueprint would provide a striking contrast to the plan put forward by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who proposed a dramatic overhaul of Medicare and Medicaid.
“What is not acceptable is a plan that achieves serious deficit reduction only by asking for sacrifice from the middle class, seniors, disabled and the poor while providing substantial tax cuts to the very well off,” Carney said.
Any balanced approach, Carney said, must include “all three legs of the stool” – entitlements, tax expenditures and defense spending.
