Obama seizes on Brookings finding that Romney tax plan would benefit rich

August 3, 2012 - 1:36 pm | Category: Politics

A fresh row has broken out over Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney’s vow to extend tax cuts for America’s richest people after a study found it would likely see the fiscal burden placed on poorer and working class families increase.

Hitting the stump in Ohio, President Barack Obama cited the study – published on Wednesday by Washington thinktank the Brookings Institution – in a speech warning that Romney’s plans would simply give extra cash to wealthy people, without stimulating the economy or helping pay off the country’s huge deficits.

“He’s not asking you to contribute more to pay down the deficit, he’s not asking you to pay more to invest in our children’s education, or rebuild our roads or put more folks back to work. He’s asking you to pay more so that people like him can get a big tax cut,” Obama told a crowd in Mansfield, Ohio.