U.S. must cut spending, end costly loopholes for wealthy in tax code -Obama

 WASHINGTON, July 2 (KUNA) -- The U.S. government must cut spending it cannot afford "so we can put the economy on sounder footing, and give our businesses the confidence they need to grow and create jobs," President Barack Obama said in his weekly address on Saturday.
Over the last few weeks, Obama said, he and Vice President Joe Biden have gotten both political parties to identify more than one trillion dollars in spending cuts, "but after a decade in which Washington ran up the country's credit card, we have got to find more savings to get out of the red".
"That means looking at every program and tax break in the budget - every single one - to find places to cut waste and save money," he said. "It means we will have to make tough decisions and scale back worthy programs. And nothing can be off limits, including spending in the tax code, particularly the loopholes that benefit very few individuals and corporations".
Obama and congressional Republicans sparred this week over Obama's insistence that 400 billion dollars in tax increases be part of a deficit-reduction package. Republicans insist they will never support any tax increases on anyone.
Both sides remain at an apparent impasse as Republicans seek even deeper cuts in domestic programs before they will agree to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, with a looming deadline of Aug. 2 before the United States would default on its international debt.
"If we choose to keep those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, or for hedge fund managers and corporate jet owners, or for oil and gas companies pulling in huge profits without our help, then we will have to make even deeper cuts somewhere else," the President said. "We have got to say to a student, 'You do not get a college scholarship.' We have to say to a medical researcher, 'You cannot do that cancer research.' We might have to tell seniors, 'You have to pay more for Medicare'".
That is neither right nor smart, he added.
"We have got to cut the deficit, but we can do that while making investments in education, research and technology that actually create jobs," Obama said. "We can live within our means while still investing in our future". (end) rm.ajs KUNA 021540 Jul 11NNNN