Obama: Can't Solve Deficit Without Asking Wealthiest Americans to 'Pay Their Fair Share

President Barack Obama used his weekly address to again call for "shared sacrifice" from both parties to solve the debt crisis, and said if the middle class have to face cuts, the wealthiest Americans should be asked to pay more.

"The truth is, you can't solve our deficit without cutting spending," Obama said. "But you also can't solve it without asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share — or without taking on loopholes that give special interests and big corporations tax breaks that middle-class Americans don't get."

Obama said the burden of deficit reduction should not be placed "on the backs of folks who've already born the brunt of the recession."

"It’s pretty simple," Obama said. "I don’t think oil companies should keep getting special tax breaks when they’re making tens of billions in profits. I don’t think hedge fund managers should pay taxes at a lower rate than their secretaries. I don’t think it’s fair to ask nothing of someone like me when the average family has seen their income decline over the past decade – and when many of you are just trying to stretch every dollar as far it it’ll go."