Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisors Alan Krueger struggled to defend President Obama's proposed budget Wednesday on CNBC:
MARIA BARTIROMO: Alan, let me ask you this. You know, the president is hoping to raise revenue by eliminating deductions of affluent taxpayers and imposing a minimum 30 percent tax on millionaires. Don't the wealthy in this country pay enough already? I mean, let's just look at somebody who makes $400,000 living in New York. A person making $400,000 living in new york is subject to 39.6 percent federal, 9.8 percent New York state, 3.6 percent New York City, Obamacare tax, another 3.6 percent. You're up to close to 60 percent of your income going to the government. Are you saying you'd like it to be more than 60 percent, for somebody making $400,000 a year? Is that what you're saying, Alan?
ALAN KRUEGER: Governing means making hard choices. It means addressing our problems. If you look at who's done well in this country over the last 25 years, it's the people at the top. The president has a budget which will provide more economic opportunity for the country at large. That's what the president proposes.
MARIA BARTIROMO: So, in other words, yes - more than 60 percent?
ALAN KRUEGER: What the president proposes is closing tax loopholes. Look, Speaker Boehner said that there were $17 trillion in tax loopholes that he could support closing.
SAM ZELL: That depends on the definition of the loop hole.
ALAN KRUEGER: I think more people agree it's a more fair tax code if we have a broader-based tax. That's just standard economics.