Wednesday, during his speech in Cleveland, President Barack Obama said its time to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class, but the nation can't afford the Republican approach of extending tax cuts for the wealthy as well. While that argument has Republicans up in arms and many concerned, rest assured the President does have his own plan for fixing the economy.

In Cleveland, Wednesday, Mr. Obama outlined his new plan which will include billions of dollars of tax incentives. The plan calls for businesses being able to write off all of their new investments in plants and equipments, and a research tax credit that would be permanently extended, on top of $50 billion in infrastructure spending. The White House says those incentives will put the economy on a path toward long-term growth while allowing for some immediate job creation.

The Bush tax cuts, are due to expire in January, setting up a big fight in Congress. Republicans and some Democrats want them to remain in place for a year or two, or to make them permanent. Obama wants to make the tax cuts permanent for middle-and-low income families while allowing them to expire for individuals making more than $200,000 and married couples making more than $250,000.

The Associated Press reports that Obama is asking Congress to consider three proposals:

- A $50 billion infrastructure investment to rebuild and repair the nation's roads, railways and runways.
- A permanent extension of research and development tax credits for businesses.
- Tax breaks to let businesses quickly write off 100 percent of their spending on new plants and equipment through 2011.

Republicans have said they are only in favor of keeping all the tax cuts in place.

If Congress does nothing, families at every income level face tax increases next year. The Associated Press released these numbers to help put the potential increase in perspective.

2011 Income                        Number of tax returns                   Average tax increase
Less than $10,000                28,681,000                                  $70
$10,000 to $20,000               24,383,000                                  $410
$20,000 to $30,000               18,523,000                                  $756
$30,000 to $40,000               15,679,000                                  $893
$40,000 to $50,000               13,001,000                                  $923
$50,000 to $75,000               23,972,000                                  $1,126
$75,000 to $100,000             15,245,000                                  $1,837
$100,000 to $200,000           16,885,000                                  $3,672
$200,000 to $500,000            3,757,000                                   $7,187
$500,000 to $1 million            608,000                                     $18,092
$1 million and over                 315,000                                     $101,587

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)