NATIONAL BRIEFING / WASHINGTON, D.C.
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said he cannot rule out higher taxes to help tame the budget deficit, and the president’s chief economic advisor would not dismiss raising them on the middle class as part of a healthcare overhaul.
Geithner said the White House was not ready to rule out a tax hike to lower the deficit. “If we want an economy that is going to grow in the future, people have to understand we have to bring those deficits down,” he said. “And it’s going to be difficult, hard for us to do. And the path to that is through healthcare reform.”
National Economic Council Director Larry H. Summers said the healthcare overhaul needs funding from somewhere.
“There is a lot that can happen over time,” Summers said, adding that the administration believes “it is never a good idea to absolutely rule things out, no matter what.”
Geithner appeared on ABC’s “This Week”; Summers was on CBS’ “Face the Nation” as well as on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
