The major development of the meeting was we made it clear our position is … we should freeze tax rates for the middle class and raise rates on the top [income] families. It was notable that neither Boehner nor McConnell shot that idea down.
A Democratic aide • Speaking about the “fiscal cliff” meeting between President Obama, Senate majority minority leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker of the House John Boehner, and their Democratic counterparts Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. The meeting took place today, and reporting following its conclusion has suggested cautious optimism on the chances for a deal. What this means for either party’s base will remain unclear until some hard numbers are put to paper, but Boehner reportedly indicated the Republicans could support revenue increases, but only accompanied by significant spending cuts. This could rankle both sides, to varying degrees — the GOP has been doggedly opposed, in theory and in practice, to virtually all tax increases for years, while the traditional Democratic wing would argue immediate spending cuts aimed at long-term deficit reduction would hurt a fragile economic recovery in the short term. source
66 notes from really cool Tumblrs like ours: