Alex Brandon/AP

Barack Obama roused a cheering northeast Pennsylvania crowd Wednesday as he warned of a "massive blow to the economy" if Republicans block a payroll tax extension because of his insistence on a millionaires' tax.

Obama took to the road with a dual pitch for money, campaigning for more cash in the pockets of U.S. workers — and for his campaign treasury as well.

Obama pressed his case at a campaign-style rally in working-class Scranton, Pa., where he said Republicans had to choose between lower taxes for the wealthy, or a payroll tax cut that would help working Americans. Republicans say they would support extending the payroll tax cut, but reject new taxes to offset the costs.

"Are you going to cut taxes for the middle class and those who are trying to get into the middle class, or are you going to protect massive tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires?" he said. "Are you going to ask a few hundred thousand people who have done very, very well to do their fair share or are you going to raise taxes for hundreds of millions of people across the country?"

read: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/o...



(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Republicans generally continue to oppose increasing taxes. However, they are also seeking to avoid political damage that would result from voting against preserving a tax break that would help middle class families, especially during the Christmas holiday.

In Scranton, Mr. Obama sought to keep the pressure on Republicans, chiding them for votes in October that blocked his $447 billion jobs bill, which contained the payroll tax extension.

Republicans, he suggested, care more about opposing tax increases for the wealthy than keeping and expanding a tax break that will help middle class families.

"How is it that they can break their oath when it comes to raising your taxes, but not break their oath when it comes to raising taxes for wealthy people. That doesn't make any sense. I hope that they don't want to just score political points, I hope that they want to help the economy. This cannot be about who wins or loses in Washington, this is about delivering a win for the American people, that is what this is about," he said.

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(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

from the White House transcript: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office...

Last year, both parties came together to cut payroll taxes for the typical household by $1,000. Now, that’s been showing up in your paychecks each week. You may not be aware of it, because times are tight. But you actually got a tax cut of $1,000 this year. Now, I know you hear a lot of folks on cable TV claiming that I’m this big tax-and-spend liberal. Next time you hear that, you just remind the people who are saying it that since I’ve taken office, I’ve cut your taxes.

Your taxes today -- the average middle-class family, your taxes today are lower than when I took office, just remember that. We have cut taxes for small businesses not once, not twice, but 17 times. The average family’s tax burden is among the lowest it’s been in the last 60 years.

So the problem is not that we’ve been raising taxes. We’ve actually been trying to give families a break during these tough times. But here’s the thing: That payroll tax cut that we passed in December of last year, it’s set to expire at the end of this year, one month from now. If that happens -- if Congress doesn’t act to extend this tax cut -- then most of you, the typical middle-class family, is going to see your taxes go up by $1,000 at the worst possible time. A young lady just said she can’t afford that. It would be tough for you. It would also be a massive blow for the economy, because we’re not fully out of the recession yet. Don’t take my word for it; this is what every independent economist says. We can’t let this tax cut lapse right now.

And that’s why my jobs bill -- part of the American Jobs Act was to extend this tax cut for another year. In fact, it does one better. It says, let’s expand that tax cut. Instead of a $1,000 tax cut next year, the typical working family under my plan would get a tax cut of $1,500. Instead of it coming out of your paycheck, it would be going into your pocket. Now, that’s money that you can spend on a small business right here in Scranton. If you’re a small business owner, my jobs bill will cut your payroll taxes in half. So if you’ve got 50 employees making $50,000 each, you’d get a tax cut of nearly $80,000. That’s money that you can then use to hire some more workers and get this economy moving again. That’s a good thing.

Now, this really should not be controversial. A lot of Republicans have agreed with this tax cut in the past. The Republican leader in the Senate said it would -- I’m quoting here -- it would “put a lot of money back in the hands of business and in the hands of individuals.” That’s what he said. Another Republican leader said it would help small business owners create jobs and help their employees spend more money, creating even more jobs. One Republican even called it a “conservative approach to help put our economy back on track.” So what’s the problem?




The bad news is some of those same Republicans voted “no” on my jobs bill and those tax cuts. I don’t know whether it’s just because I proposed it. I don’t know. They said “no” to cutting taxes for small business owners and working families. One of them said just two years ago that this kind of tax cut would boost job creation, and now that I’m proposing it, he said we should let it expire. I mean, what happened?

Republicans say they’re the party of tax cuts. That’s what they say. A lot of them have sworn an oath to never raise taxes on anybody as long as they live. That doesn’t square with their vote against these tax cuts. I mean, how is it that they can break their oath when it comes to raising your taxes, but not break their oath when it comes to raising taxes for wealthy people? That doesn’t make any sense. I mean, I hope that they don’t want to just score political points. I hope that they want to help the economy.

This cannot be about who wins and loses in Washington. This is about delivering a win for the American people. That’s what this is about. You know, $1,500 -- that’s not a Band-Aid for middle-class families, that’s a big deal. How many people here could use an extra $1,500? Yes, I thought so.

So I’ll tell you what, Scranton. They may have voted “no” on these tax cuts once. But I’m already filled with the Christmas spirit. There’s kind of some chill in the air. I saw some Christmas decorations at the Festas. So I’m in a Christmas spirit. I want to give them another chance. I want to give them a chance to redeem themselves. We’re going to give them another chance.




So as early as Friday, this Friday, in a couple of days, we’re going to give them a chance to take a simple vote on these tax cuts. If they vote “no,” then the typical family’s taxes will go up by $1,000 next year. If they vote “yes,” then the typical family will have an extra $1,500 in their pocket. So let’s just be clear: If they vote “no,” your taxes go up; vote “yes,” you get a tax cut. Which way do you think Congress should vote? They should vote “yes,” it’s pretty simple.

Now, if you want to see what this vote will mean for your bottom line, we have this spiffy new tax calculator on our Internet site, WhiteHouse.gov. So you can go on there and you can punch in your numbers and figure out what it would mean to your family. But this is real money that would go into the economy at a time it needs it.

Now, I really do think your voices are already getting
through, because some of the folks in Congress are starting to say, well, maybe we’re open to this thing. Maybe we’ll be open to these tax cuts. And that’s good news. But I want to make sure that we do this responsibly. So what I’ve said is, to pay for this tax cut, we need to ask wealthy Americans to pay their fair share.

We’re asking -- what we’ve said is let’s ask the folks who’ve seen their incomes rise fastest, who’ve gotten bigger tax breaks under Bush, let’s ask them to help out a little bit, because they made it better through the recession than most of us. Let’s ask them to contribute a little bit more to get the economy going again.

And I just want to point out I’ve done pretty well over these last few years. So I’ve said, let me pay a little bit more. I promise you, I can afford it. (Laughter.) I really can. We’re asking people like me to sacrifice just a little bit so that you guys have a little bit of a leg up.





And by the way, let me say this: When you talk to most folks who are making a million dollars a year, they are willing to do more if they’re asked. Warren Buffett is a good example. They’re willing to do more if they’re asked.

Now, I mean, I don’t want to exaggerate. It’s not like they’re volunteering. (Laughter.) But if they’re asked, if they feel like it’s going to help middle-class families, help grow the economy, help to reduce the deficit, they’re willing to help. I can’t tell you how many well-to-do folks I meet who say, look, America gave me a chance to succeed. Somewhere along the line, somebody gave me a good education. Somewhere along the line, somebody gave me a college scholarship. Somewhere along the line, somebody built the information and transportation networks that have helped my business grow. Somewhere along the line, somebody gave me a shot. And so now it’s my turn to do the next generation that same good thing. I’ve got to give something back to them as well.

Because, Scranton, this is something everybody in this audience understands. When you think about the history of Scranton and the immigrants who came here and worked hard, each successive generation doing a little bit better -- you guys know that what America is about is that we’re all in this together; that each of us has to do our own individual part, but we also have to be looking out for one another.

And that’s the very simple choice that’s facing Congress right now: Are you going to cut taxes for the middle class and those who are trying to get into the middle class? Or are you going to protect massive tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, many of whom don’t even want those tax breaks? Are you going to ask a few hundred thousand people who have done very, very well to do their fair share? Or are you going to raise taxes for hundreds of millions of people across the country -- 160 million Americans? Are you willing to fight as hard for middle-class families as you do for those who are most fortunate? What’s it going to be?


(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

That’s the choice in front of Congress. And I hope members of Congress think hard about this, because their actions lately don’t reflect who we are as a people. What does it say about our priorities when we’d rather protect a few really well-to-do people than fight for the jobs of teachers and firefighters?

What does it say when we -- about our values when we’d rather fight for corporate tax breaks than put construction workers back on the job rebuilding our roads and our bridges and our schools? What does it say about us if we’re willing to cut taxes for the people who don’t need them, and raise them on folks who do need a tax break?

We are better than that. America is better than that. We celebrate individual achievement, we expect everybody to work hard, but we don’t believe in every person for themselves; we believe that out of many, we come together as one. We’re a people who reach for our own success, but we also reach back for the people -- to bring somebody up. Reach back to help others earn their own success as well. And we believe that if the folks at the bottom and the folks in the middle succeed, then American succeeds, and the folks at the top succeed as well.


(Jason Reed / Reuters)


read entire speech: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office...