Thaindian News

September 13, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): Heated exchange of words between the White House and John Boehner, the minority leader of the house ensued over the ongoing issue of tax cuts for the wealthy.

It all initiated with Boehner stating on the CBS show, ‘Face the Nation’ that he would be ready to support tax cuts for couples as well as individuals earning less than $250,000 but only in the eventuality of having no other option.

The statement released by the White House soon after said that it welcomed Boehner’s stand but was wary of his intentions. Robert Gibbs, the spokesman for the White House read out from the statement which resulted in yet another statement this time from Boehner. He said that increasing the taxes on Americans struggling during the times of economic hardship is a very wrong action to take. He said the only thing left for them to do is to come together and put a stop to all spending by taking it back to the level of 2008. He also proposed putting a freeze on all tax hikes for the next couple of years.

He went on to state that his opinion was endorsed not only by a number of economists and fellow Republicans but also some members belonging to the Democratic Party as well.

However, President Obama has not ceased to hammer away at Boehner on the tax cut issues. He said that the Republican leader of the house does not believe in cutting tax only for the lower and middle income groups. He also wants to give a tax reduction to the 2% belonging to America’s wealthiest class.

Mike Allen of Politico.com suspects something else behind Boehner’s moves. He believes that his words were meant to bring in more support from the Democrats for a total freeze on tax hikes.