Obama’s Pledge to Tax Only the Rich Can’t Pay for Everything, Analysts Say

07/30/2009 • NYT

Behind Democrats’ struggle to pay the $1 trillion 10-year cost of President Obama’s promise to overhaul the health care system is their collision with another of his well-known pledges: that 95 percent of Americans “will not see their taxes increase by a single dime” during his term. Enlarge This Image Stephen Crowley/The New York Times President Obama has promised that 95 percent of Americans “will not see their taxes increase by a single dime” in his term. Blog The Caucus The latest on President Obama, the new administration and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion. More Politics News This will not be the last time that the president runs into a conflict between his audacious agenda and his pay-as-you-go guarantee, when only 5 percent of taxpayers are being asked to chip in. Critics from conservative to liberal warn that Mr. Obama has tied his and Congress’s hands on a range of issues, including tax reform and the need to reduce deficit