OECD's growth forecast too weak to boost U.S. jobs (2)

At issue is whether Democrats and Republicans can agree on taxes on upper income earners. President Barack Obama wants to increase their tax rates, arguing they must pay their fair share, while Republicans contend upper earners are the driving force of the economy and taxing them will hurt an economy that continues to struggle toward recovery.

The best outcome, Bosworth said, would be to reduce the budget deficit somewhat by handling the tax issue with caps on deductions, as well as some marginal agreement between Democrats and Republicans to control Medicare costs.

But in concentrating on budget issues, politicians are losing focus on the weak economic recovery, which tops the list of the nation's problems, said Bosworth, a former presidential economic advisor.

"It's most important to get the economy going again," Bosworth said. "In a growing economy, it's relatively easy to resolve fiscal issues. In a stagnant economy, it's hard."

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