Obama Staff Divided over Taxes?

In the 2008 election Obama distinctly said: “anyone making less than $250,000 a year will not see their taxes increase by a single dime.” On Sunday, however, Geithner revealed quite the opposite.

Obama’s Press secretary on Monday reiterated the notion that no new taxes will be levied upon those making less than $250,000 a year, as opposed to what two of Obama’s economic team have said. Geithner, who just a day before said that the possibility of taxing those under that threshold cannot be ruled out, as the historical steps to solve the riddles of our economy manually have ended up inflating the budget deficit to around 1.8 trillion (USD) this year.

Robert Gibbs said two things that weren’t exactly the same. First, he said “The president’s clear commitment is not to raise taxes on those making less than $250,000 a year.” Secondly, he said “I hope you’ll take my reiteration of this clear commitment . . . in the clearest terms possible, that he is not raising taxes on those who make less than $250,000 a year.” The first was talking about a commitment, which aren’t always held. The second was more like a promise.

The press conference wasn’t completely assuring, however, as after being asked again whether there would be no tax increases for middle-income Americans making below the threshold Summers (president of Obama’s economic council) said “Oh, there’s a lot that could happen over time… It’s never a good idea to absolutely rule things, rule things out no matter what.”

If that’s what he meant, then I am inclined to believe Geithner more, as he was not so wishy washy and his job isn’t to please the press and maintain a pristine reputation as opposed to the press secretary’s.