US: Obama asks voters to use Twitter to bring tax changes

New York, Nov 29: Signalling an aggressive shift in his approach to break the legislative logjam that dogged his first term,

has taken an unconventional route to force consensus. The US president has sought the public's help and urged Americans to use the Twitter hashtag #my2k to tweet their support -- a reference to the $2,000-plus in additional taxes a typical American family will have to pay if no deal is reached.

He is asking for a pre-Christmas deal with Republicans to avert a year-end tax and deficit crunch. After winning the re-election in a deeply divided nation, Obama had to act as pressure mounted from the worried business world and fluttering stock markets.

Consensus has swelled that a deal -- either a full-blown grand bargain or part one of a multi-stage agreement -- ought to be reached before tax rates rise for millions of American families and deep spending cuts bite on the first day of 2013. Economists have said the $500-billion amalgam of tax hikes and spending cuts required by last year's debt-ceiling deal could pitch the US economy back towards recession next year.

To show that he means business, Obama spoke a group of middle class families at the White House who he said had written him to express their worries. Later, he emailed excerpts from some of those letters to millions of his campaign supporters - along with a plea to get involved. "Will you tell us what $2,000 means to you?" the president wrote, closing with a link to his website.

However, the social media warfare has escalated into a full blown war with the Heritage Foundation snagged coveted Twitter space by purchasing a "promoted tweet" for "my2k,". It means that anyone who searches for that hashtag sees the conservative thinktank's ad about why it's wrong to raise taxes.

The Republican House Speaker John Boehner signalled no wavering in the taxes standoff, even after fellow Republican Tom Cole pitched taking the Democratic deal to prevent taxes from rising on the middle class while suggesting rates for the wealthiest be worked out later.

Most worried are the business leaders and 13 of whom met with Obama at the White House. "I would like to not have a crisis that will wreck the economy and derail the recovery," Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs Group, told CNN.

Some of the tweets:

Larry Robinson
Dear congress: please pass the tax cut for the 98% of the middle class under $250k as per Pres. Obama. PASS THIS NOW!

E=mc2
#my2k - Just do it! It is the right thing to do for the American People.

Andre Kliczak
#My2K Support the president. Respect the voters. Let bush cuts expire. Hands off big 3! Thanks!

ave
Be bold Mr. President and propose tax simplification and rate reductions and watch the $ pour into the treasury for you to squander

OneIndia News