Obama meets with CEOs, middle income earners on ?fiscal cliff?

In this July 6, 2011, file photo, President Barack Obama sits in front of a screen displaying a question he tweeted??Looking for leverage in "fiscal cliff" talks with Republicans, President Barack Obama on Wednesday was to host middle-class Americans whose taxes risk going up January 1 and then retreat behind closed doors for talks with top corporate executives. The White House also worked to enlist support on Twitter, highlighting a hashtag, #My2K, for tweets about the standoff.

Obama planned to deliver a speech at 11:35 a.m. to press Congress to extend Bush-era tax cuts only for individuals with income up to $200,000 and families up to $250,000. He'll be surrounded by Americans who stand to be affected if those tax cuts are allowed to expire on January 1.

Obama wants to end the tax cuts for higher earners while preserving them for for the middle class. The White House says that "a typical middle class family of four" would pay Uncle Sam an additional $2,200 unless tax cuts are extended for them.

Obama campaigned for reelection arguing that tax cuts that chiefly benefit the richest Americans? must expire in order to save popular government programs that face the axe. Republicans want to extend the tax cuts for higher earners, insisting that a tax hike on that group will reduce investments that generate jobs at a time when the economy is still sputtering and unemployment remains high. The GOP has signaled it would be willing to consider boosting tax revenues as long as Democrats agree to overhaul popular entitlement programs like Medicare or Medicaid.

That $2,200 figure is the inspiration for #My2K, part of what the White House describes as an "online push" behind the president's approach. Obama has highlighted Twitter hashtags in past disputes with Republicans: #40dollars in the fight over the payroll tax holiday and #dontdoublemyrate in a feud over student loans.

The president, who spoke to top Republican and Democratic leaders over the weekend, was to make brief public remarks at the top of a meeting with his cabinet at 3 pm before huddling with senior executives from major American corporations.

Here is the list of attendees, as provided by the White House:

• Frank Blake, Chairman and CEO, The Home Depot
• Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs Group
• Joe Echeverria, CEO, Deloitte LLP
• Ken Frazier, President and CEO, Merck and Co.
• Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, Coca Cola
• Terry Lundgren, Chairman, President, and CEO, Macy's Inc.
• Marissa Mayer, CEO and President, Yahoo!
• Douglas Oberhelman, Chairman and CEO, Caterpillar
• Ian Read, Chairman and CEO, Pfizer
• Brian Roberts, Chairman and CEO, Comcast
• Ed Rust, Chairman and CEO, State Farm Insurance Co.
• Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott
• Randall Stephenson, Chairman and CEO, AT&T
• Patricia Woertz, President and CEO, Archer Daniels Midland

The "fiscal cliff" refers to an economically painful set of tax hikes and deep spending cuts that come into effect January 1 unless Congress and the president reach a deal.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-spotlights-middle-class-meets-ceos-fiscal-cliff-141910370--politics.html

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