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Obama Says Hedge Fund Managers Are 'Society's Lottery Winners'

US President Barack Obama participates in a roundtable discussion with young people at an event at Lehman College launching the My Brothers Keeper Alliance, a new non-profit organization, in New York on May 4, 2015. — US President Barack Obama participates in a roundtable discussion with young people at an event at Lehman College launching the My Brothers Keeper Alliance, a new non-profit organization, in New York on May 4, 2015.
NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

Angela Greiling Keane

May 12, 2015, 4:36 PM UTCUpdated onMay 12, 2015, 8:57 PM UTC

The U.S. won’t put a dent into poverty and income inequity unless Democrats and Republicans can agree to raise taxes on top earners like hedge-fund and private equity managers, President Barack Obama said Tuesday.

Obama, whose longstanding proposal to raise taxes on what is known as carried interest has gained little traction in Congress, said fairness demands that the nation’s wealthiest pitch in as more and more Americans are falling behind.