Obama targets economic inequality
US President Barack Obama has called for tax reform in an effort to change a system that allows the wealthy to pay a lower rate than middle-class Americans.
While saying that the State of the Union was strong in his State of the Union of Address, President Obama noted that more needed to be done to address inequities.
His message comes as potential Republican rival Mitt Romney, one of the wealthiest men to ever run for the White House, released tax records showing he paid an effective tax rate that is much lower than the top tax rates on wages.
Taxes are the most divisive issue at the heart of this year's election campaign. Obama, seeking a second term despite a slow economic recovery and a high jobless rate, hopes to tap into middle-class voters' resentment against Wall Street while their families are hurting.
Obama is set to revive his call to rewrite the tax code to adopt the so-called "Buffett rule," named after the billionaire Warren Buffett, who supports the president and says it is unfair that he, Buffett, pays a lower tax rate than his secretary, who sat with First Lady Michelle Obama during the address.
Democrats have hammered Republicans in Congress for supporting tax breaks that favor the wealthy while Republicans staunchly oppose tax hikes, even on the richest Americans, arguing they would hurt a fragile economic recovery. Obama also defended his foreign policy record.
Most of Obama's proposals will face stiff Republican resistance, limiting the chance of any headway in a divided Congress before the Nov. 6 Presidential election.
