Former US Treasury chief Rubin says tax rises needed

Reuters reports:

Higher U.S. taxes are inevitable in order to reduce soaring budget deficits because foreigners will not finance U.S. shortfalls forever, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said on Thursday.

"You cannot solve the nation's fiscal problems without increased revenues," Rubin told the Economic Club of Washington, adding that he did not believe U.S. economic activity would suffer if such action was taken.

"I think if you were to increase taxes right now, you would have probably about zero negative effect on the economy," Rubin told a questioner after a dinner address to about 200 people.

No word yet on cutting Social Security and Medicare for rich old folks like Robert Rubin.