Obama discusses US economy

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Obama discusses US economy

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While discussing US economy, President Obama suggested long-term plans to avoid financial crisis.

09 August,2011 04:56 am

US President Barack Obama on Monday blamed a downgrade in the United States credit rating on political gridlock in Washington and said he would offer some recommendations on how to reduce federal deficits.Obama said in a White House appearance that he hopes the Standard and Poors downgrade of US debt to AA-plus from AAA will give lawmakers a new sense of urgency to tackle deficit spending and said he did not believe the reductions could be carried out with spending cuts alone.A congressional committee, to be formed under the legislation passed last week that averted a government default, is to report its recommendations in late November on how to cut $1.5 trillion in spending over a decade.Obama said he would offer his own recommendations for fixing the problem and cited again the need to raise taxes on wealthier Americans and make modest adjustments to popular but expensive entitlement programs.The president also addressed concerns about Taliban resurgence after Afghan militants shot down a helicopter over the weekend killing 30 US troops, most of them elite Navy SEALs.Saturdays helicopter crash in Afghanistan will not deter the United States from its mission in the country, he said. The crash was the deadliest incident for US forces since the war in Afghanistan began nearly a decade ago and followed a series of high-profile assassinations and attacks by the insurgents over the past several months.Critics of Obamas plan to withdraw 33,000 US forces from Afghanistan by the end of next summer have alternatively attacked the president for pulling out too slowly or too quickly from the war.