White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton abord Air Force One, answering questions from reporters about tax cuts:
Q Can you talk about the November 30th meeting and what kinds of discussions are going on with Democrats to come up with a unified front in the talks with Republicans about the tax cuts?
MR. BURTON: Well, there is some unity among Democrats on what the best way forward is. Democrats agree that we have to act now, as soon as possible. Democrats agree that there should be a permanent extension to the middle-class tax cuts, that there shouldn’t be a permanent extension of tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, but also that we’re willing to sit down and compromise in good faith with Republicans.
So as we get into the Christmas shopping season especially, there’s a real urgency to letting Americans know that they can depend on the fact that this tax cut is going to be extended. Because when you're at the mall and you’re deciding if this is going to be a really fun Christmas or kind of a more austere Christmas, you want to know if that tax cut is going to be in place. It’s to the tune of some $3,000 for the typical middle-class family, which is a lot of money. So the President is committed to moving as fast as he can to getting those tax cuts extended for the middle class.
Q So if the agreement on millionaires and billionaires not needing a tax cut, does that mean a compromise along the lines of putting a limit at $500,000 or something like that would be a strategy that you would follow?
MR. BURTON: Well, if I were Phil Schiliro and you were a Republican leader in Congress, we could have a good conversation about this. (Laughter.) But since we’re just in the back of the plane, I think we’re going to wait until we get to the meeting. We’re going to sit down, be willing to work in good faith with Republicans and Democrats on what the best way forward is. But our principle is that the middle-class tax cuts need to be extended permanently.
Obviously, there's tons of wiggle room in this statement about how to handle upper-income tax cuts, but it's a pretty clear statement that the White House's top goal is a permanent extension of middle-class tax cuts. The question now whether Democrats and the White House will be able to achieve that goal without permanently extending tax cuts on income over $250,000 -- or whether they'll cave, and give in to the GOP's demand that middle-income and upper-income tax cuts be forever linked.
Update: President Obama offers his thoughts, urging an extension of middle-class tax cuts, but also saying:
"The only place where we disagree is whether we can afford to also borrow $700 billion to pay for an extra tax cut for the wealthiest Americans -- millionaires and billionaires. I don't think we can afford (that) right now."