–Hope Commission to Produce Realistic, Bipartisan Solution
–UK Prime Minister: US,UK Aiming for Strong, Stable Growth

By Heather Scott

WASHINGTON (MNI) – President Barack Obama Tuesday renewed his
pledge to make the tough choices that will be needed to address the U.S.
structural deficit and growing debt levels.

But in a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister David
Cameron, on his first visit to the White House since assuming his post,
Obama noted that the UK and U.S. situations are different so the steps
to address them will be different and implemented on a different
timetable.

After paying down the short-term deficit incurred as a result of
stimulus measures implemented during the height of the crisis, “We’re
still going to have to go back and deal with these long-term structural
deficits,” Obama told reporters.

He repeated his message to other leaders of the Group of 20 that
the United States “cannot alone be the economic engine for the rest of
the world’s growth.”

While some press reports following the G20 summit in Toronto last
month drew the conclusion that Obama somehow “lost” in his bid to
convince other countries to continue to stimulate their economies, the
President Tuesday repeated what he said then: each country will have to
withdraw stimulus and address budget and debt issues in their own based
on their individual situations.

The U.S. and UK economies “are in slightly different situations …
their levels of debt relative to GDP are somewhat higher,” Obama said.

But he noted that “the goal here is the same and we’re all moving
in the same direction, but there is going to be differentiation based on
the different circumstances of different countries in terms of how they
approach it tactically and at what pace.”

Cameron, whose government has recently announced sharp budget cuts,
agreed: “We’re both taking action that our countries need. Our
destination is a strong and stable growth, a sustained economic recovery
and a reformed financial system that will never again be open to the
abuses of the past.”

Obama said he is waiting for the report from the fiscal commission
on how to deal with the longer term deficit and debt levels and “We’re
committed to pursuing those tough choices after we get that report.”

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

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