President Obama uses CBO report on income gap in argument for jobs bill

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WASHINGTON - October 29, 2011 (WPVI) -- President Obama is banking on a new report detailing the income disparity in the country as further evidence of the need for his $447 billion jobs bill.

Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday that he would pay for his jobs plan with an added tax on people who make at least $1 million a year: (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/29/weekly-address-we-cant-wait-strengthen-economy-and-create-jobs)

President: "This week, a new economic report confirmed what most Americans already believe to be true: over the past three decades, the middle class has lost ground while the wealthiest few have become even wealthier. In fact, the average income for the top one percent of Americans has risen almost seven times faster than the income of the average middle class family. And this has happened during a period where the cost of everything from health care to college has skyrocketed."

"These are the same folks who have seen their incomes go up so much, and I believe this is a contribution they're willing to make," Obama said. "Unfortunately, Republicans in Congress aren't paying attention. They're not getting the message."

"The truth is, we can no longer wait for Congress to do its job. The middle-class families who’ve been struggling for years are tired of waiting. They need help now. So where Congress won’t act, I will."


read: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/national_world&id=8410710

weekly address: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/29/weekly-address-we-cant-wait-strengthen-economy-and-create-jobs

Entire CBO Document (pdf): http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/124xx/doc12485/10-25-HouseholdIncome.pdf

Full CBO Summary (pdf): http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/124xx/doc12485/WebSummary.pdf