Obama Campaigns for Fiscal Plan

 WHITE HOUSE — President Barack Obama visited a family’s home near Washington on Thursday as part of his campaign to persuade Congress to pass his economic plan.  

Obama paid a visit to Tiffany and Richard Santana, who responded to his call asking Americans to use social media to express support for his fiscal¹ plan.

Americans will face substantial tax increases and government budget cuts on January 1, if Congress does not pass and the president does not sign legislation to reduce the nation’s debt.

??Obama said failure to enact² fiscal legislation would cost a typical American family, such as the Santanas, $2,000 a year in higher taxes.

“An increase of $2,000 or so for her and her husband, in this household, would actually mean $4,000 that was lost.  And a couple of thousand dollars means a couple months rent," he said. 

The president said higher taxes for families across the country would cause a ripple³ effect throughout the U.S. economy.

“That translates into $200 billion of less consumer spending next year.  And that is bad for businesses, large and small.  It is bad for our economy.  It means less folks are being hired.  And we could be back in a downward spiral instead of the kind of virtuous⁴ cycle that we want to see," he said.

On Wednesday, the president and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican John Boehner, discussed the issue in a telephone call.

Democrats⁵ and Republicans agree that more revenue must be raised to help reduce the national debt, which stands at more than $16 trillion.  But Republicans oppose the president’s proposal to raise tax rates on the wealthiest Americans to close the gap.

Obama has been making his case to the public, hoping that Americans will pressure Republicans in Congress to accept the president's plan.

“I am encouraged to see that there has been some discussion on the part of Republicans, acknowledging the need for additional revenue.  As I have indicated, the only way to get the kind of revenue for a balanced deficit⁶ reduction plan is to make sure that we are also modestly increasing rates for people who can afford it," he said. 

The president recently has discussed the issue with state governors, corporate⁷ executives and the general public.  But he has held only one meeting with top lawmakers on the fiscal situation, last month.

1 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

2 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

3 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

4 virtuous   

adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的

参考例句：

• She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性，人人都尊敬她。
• My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

7 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。