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Obama Calls for 'Grand Bargain' on Economy: 'Everybody's Going to Have to Give'
ABC News ^ | January 10, 2009 | George Stephanopoulos

Posted on 01/10/2009 9:10:12 PM PST by stevie_d_64

In my exclusive interview with Barack Obama airing tomorrow on This Week, the president-elect told me that fixing our economy over the long term will require sacrifice from every American and scaling back some of his campaign promises.

"Our challenge is going to be identifying what works and putting more money into that, eliminating things that don’t work, and making things that we have more efficient. But I’m not suggesting, George, I want to be realistic here, not everything that we talked about during the campaign are we going to be able to do on the pace we had hoped," Obama told me in his first interview since arriving back in Washington, DC as president-elect.

I asked the president-elect, "At the end of the day, are you really talking about over the course of your presidency some kind of grand bargain? That you have tax reform, healthcare reform, entitlement reform including Social Security and Medicare, where everybody in the country is going to have to sacrifice something, accept change for the greater good?"

"Yes," Obama said.

"And when will that get done?" I asked.

"Well, right now, I’m focused on a pretty heavy lift, which is making sure we get that reinvestment and recovery package in place. But what you described is exactly what we’re going to have to do. What we have to do is to take a look at our structural deficit, how are we paying for government? What are we getting for it? And how do we make the system more efficient?"

"And eventually sacrifice from everyone?" I asked.

"Everybody’s going to have to give. Everybody’s going to have to have some skin in the game," Obama said.

(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.abcnews.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 0bama; ayers; bho; bho2008; bhoeconomy; collectivist; commies; corruption; economy; extended; hussein; jeremiahwright; obama; obamanomics; radicalleft; rahm; rats; redistribution; socialism; spreadingthewealth; theplan; wright; yeswecan
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To: Mad Dawg
Does that include Congress giving back their automatic pay raises?

Definitely not.

But I bet Social Security inflation adjustments are headed for the chopping block.

21 posted on 01/10/2009 9:23:09 PM PST by CurlyDave
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To: stevie_d_64

And to follow his own example, Barry is scaling way back on the Inauguration festivities, right? What a leader!


22 posted on 01/10/2009 9:23:30 PM PST by informavoracious
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To: stevie_d_64

How about “grand bankruptcy?”


23 posted on 01/10/2009 9:23:53 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: stevie_d_64

He’s planning to reduce social programs, and make everyone pay something in taxes ?


24 posted on 01/10/2009 9:24:36 PM PST by EDINVA
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To: stevie_d_64

No details on his plan, assuming he has one... I guess he is voting “present” again.


25 posted on 01/10/2009 9:25:17 PM PST by OCC
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To: stevie_d_64

One thing I tell 0bama supporters is that if he was white he would be considered unqualified to be president. They have a hard time responding to that one.


26 posted on 01/10/2009 9:25:34 PM PST by Post Toasties (It's not a smear if it's true.)
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To: muawiyah
And people wonder why the Republican Party is such a lapdog.

L

27 posted on 01/10/2009 9:25:40 PM PST by Lurker ("America is at that awkward stage. " Claire Wolfe, call your office.)
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To: stevie_d_64

You mean, he’s gonna spend $ 1 trillion of our money, and that’s not enough “giving” from us??

Is there any chance this whole move to Socialism from these morons will blow up in their faces sooner rather than later, or even too late?


28 posted on 01/10/2009 9:27:25 PM PST by antonico
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To: stevie_d_64; ExTexasRedhead

I thought he had a plan, guess not.


29 posted on 01/10/2009 9:28:13 PM PST by Perdogg (Only the hypnotized never lie)
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To: All

“I want to be realistic here, not everything that we talked about during the campaign are we going to be able to do on the pace we had hoped,”

As if it comes as a surprise, not!


30 posted on 01/10/2009 9:29:27 PM PST by BrianE (The Republican party may not exist 40 years from now-host Fred Flannigan WKRS 1220 am on Oct. of 04)
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To: stevie_d_64

> “Everybody’s going to have to give. Everybody’s going to have to have some skin in the game,” Obama said.

SUCKER PUNCH!

Muhammad Ali used to do those: he’d swing his right arm around and around and around, like Popeye, and then suddenly WHAM!

Well, we saw Obama swinging his arm like Popeye long before the Election...


31 posted on 01/10/2009 9:29:29 PM PST by DieHard the Hunter (Is mise an ceann-cinnidh. Cha ghéill mi do dhuine. Fàg am bealach.)
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To: stevie_d_64

Say what? Give? Why should my money be used to bail out the economy? I paid my taxes, what did you idiots in the government do with it? Why should a single penny of my money be used on private corporations?


32 posted on 01/10/2009 9:29:35 PM PST by CodeToad
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To: informavoracious
Yup, scaling back on his new limos and helos too.

He is going to go down in history as the most hated president. You just watch. There is no one he won't piss off. Just give him time.

33 posted on 01/10/2009 9:29:42 PM PST by Semper911 (When you want to rob Peter to pay Paul, you'll always have the support of Paul.)
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To: pepperhead
The rats control both the house and senate. There will be no giving up of any entitlements.

Entitlement "reform" will mean something the press will call a grand compromise. It will entail increasing the Social Security retirement age by some trivial amount like three months, subjecting more Social Security payments to the income tax, and expanding the base of the Social Security Tax.

The latter provision will be by far the most important, dollar-wise, but they'll be sure to note the three month change in the retirement age -- and how that's such a huge sacrifice by AARP. Meanwhile lots of folks will see their effective tax bracket jump by 12.4% but those are just rich greedy people so who cares . . .

34 posted on 01/10/2009 9:30:22 PM PST by Numbers Guy
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To: AZLiberty
"Our challenge is going to be identifying what works and putting more money into that, eliminating things that don’t work, and making things that we have more efficient.

Damn Bambi that's pretty profound. No wonder they call you the ONE. You thought of that all yourself?

YOU STUPID DUMB &$*@#!!! WE ALL KNOW THAT!!! Why don't you tell us what those things are? I mean you've only just been running for President. I'd think you would have figured some of these things. out.

35 posted on 01/10/2009 9:30:40 PM PST by PackerBronco
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To: stevie_d_64
the president-elect told me that fixing our economy over the long term will require sacrifice from every American and scaling back some of his campaign promises

why dont they just say he lied?

36 posted on 01/10/2009 9:31:10 PM PST by hoosierboy (I am not a gun nut, I am a firearm enthusiast!!!)
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To: maine-iac7

Right on. Nobody can know what the common good might be! Only a distributed system, with free, informed, and independent decison-makers can accomplish a greater good: only such a system can benefit everyone. Adam Smith called it the “invisible hand.”

Dekulakization.
Collectivization.
Dictatorship of the proletariat. No, disctatorship of the needy.


37 posted on 01/10/2009 9:32:48 PM PST by Unknowing (Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.)
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To: CurlyDave

“But I bet Social Security inflation adjustments are headed for the chopping block.”

The Messiah will impose a Means Test on Socialable Security to make sure RICH WHITE PEOPLE don’t take money they don’t need. That will leave more for his homies.


38 posted on 01/10/2009 9:33:12 PM PST by Rembrandt
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To: BookmanTheJanitor; ExTexasRedhead

I guess that means he will be cuting back from the gym, right?


39 posted on 01/10/2009 9:35:55 PM PST by Perdogg (Only the hypnotized never lie)
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To: stevie_d_64

We’ve been giving and giving to point of being robbed.

Where’s this dude been? Oh yes, on the receiving end.


40 posted on 01/10/2009 9:38:00 PM PST by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote.)
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