2009 address to joint session of Congress: on Tax Reform

Barack Obama: FactCheck: Tax cut only helps 75% or workers, not 95%

He's referring to the "making work pay" refundable tax credit, which is only available to workers. There would be no credit for retirees or those who are unemployed; a more modest 75.5% of all households would benefit, whether their members are working or not.

It is also questionable whether all of the tax refunds can properly be called "tax cuts." The credit is refundable and, therefore, is going to many who earn so little that they pay no federal income taxes in the first place. The White House calls them tax cuts, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office officially scores the bill's refundable credits under "direct spending."

Bobby Jindal: Create jobs by lowering tax rates for families & business

That is why Republicans put forward plans to create jobs by lowering income tax rates for working families, cutting taxes for small businesses, strengthening incentives for businesses to invest in new equipment and hire new workers, and stabilizing home values by creating a new tax credit for home-buyers. These plans would cost less and create more jobs.

But Democratic leaders in Congress--they rejected this approach. Instead of trusting us to make wise decisions with our own money, they passed the largest government spending bill in history, with a price tag of more than $1 trillion with interest.