Obama’s answer on tax hikes, from his news conference
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At the end of his news conference today, President-elect Barack Obama was asked about the tax increases he proposed during his campaign. Here’s the question, and Obama’s answer:
Q: Do you still intend to seek income tax increases for upper-income Americans? And if so, should these Americans expect to pay higher taxes in 2009? A: The -- my tax plan represented a net tax cut. It provided for substantial middle-class tax cuts; 95% of working families would receive them. It also provided for cuts in capital gains for small businesses, additional tax credits. All of it is designed for job growth. My priority is going to be, how do we grow the economy? How do we create more jobs? I think that the plan that we’ve put forward is the right one, but, obviously, over the next several weeks and months, we’re going to be continuing to take a look at the data and see what’s taking place in the economy as a whole. But, understand, the goal of my plan is to provide tax relief to families that are struggling, but also to boost the capacity of the economy to grow from the bottom up.
So, does that sound like he’s reserving the right to back off from tax hikes, which many analysts believe would be a big mistake in a sinking economy?