Obama announces debt plan built on taxes on rich

In a blunt rejoinder to congressional Republicans, President Barack Obama called for $1.5 trillion in new taxes Monday, part of a total 10-year deficit reduction package totaling more than $3 trillion. “We can’t just cut our way out of this hole,” the president said.

The president’s proposal aims to reduce spending in mandatory benefit programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, by $580 billion and counts savings of $1 trillion over 10 years from the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

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