Shortly after President Obama finished his post-election speech promising to raise taxes for the wealthy, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. issued a statement that directly contradicted the president.
“I fundamentally reject the idea that the only way to avoid the fiscal cliff is to raise taxes and jeopardize job creation,” he said calling for widespread spending reform. Rubio also called for policies promoting economic growth, adding that “tax increases are not going to grow an economy and encourage businesses to create jobs.”
Obama indicated in his press conference that tax increses were necessary in order to reduce the deficit. "If we’re serious about reducing the deficit, we have to combine spending cuts with revenue -- and that means asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more in taxes," he said.
But Rubio disagreed.
“Tax increases are not the answer," he stated. "We need fundamental tax reform, an overhaul of our regulatory structure, a cut to discretionary spending, a balanced budget amendment, and reforms to save Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid."
