Obama to Address Struggling Middle Class by Raising Taxes for Rich

WASHINGTON, January 21 (Sputnik) — US President Barack Obama will tell Americans in the State of the Union address that he will promote policies to benefit a struggling middle class and increase taxes on the rich, according to excerpts of the speech, provided by the White House Office of the Press Secretary.

“Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well? Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort?” Obama will ask US citizens as he unveils measures to help the middle class.

Obama will promote “middle-class economics” that will ensure everyone has a level playing field and gets their fair cut from the economy. “Middle-class economics works. Expanding opportunity works. And these policies will continue to work, as long as politics don’t get in the way,” Obama will tell the nation.

According to a White House press release Obama plans to announce an initiative to increase taxes on capital gains for the rich, close a loophole in the estate tax, and propose a fee on large financial firms. The tax proposal will be paired with tax relief for working middle class Americans and a child tax credit.