President Obama hosts Congressional leaders at the White House today for talks on raising the national debt ceiling.
According to the Washington Post, Obama is now backing a plan that would impose significant cuts to Medicare spending and retirement benefits under Social Security. A Democratic official said the White House recognizes a consensus to now tackle "entitlement reform" in part by slashing social safety-net programs because "these moments come along at most once a decade." Obama’s proposal of new public spending cuts would come in return for Republican backing of new tax hikes on corporations and wealthy households. At a Town Hall-style event with the social network site Twitter, Obama criticized Republicans for opposing tax increases in talks so far.
