This morning, President Obama and Republicans are squaring off over how to reduce the national deficit after President Obama unveiled his plan in a speech at the Rose Garden yesterday.

At the heart of Obama's proposal is $1.5 trillion dollars in new revenue generated largely by higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans, a proposal strongly opposed by GOP leaders who insist that any tax increase will undermine an already shaky economy.

Representative Jeff Flake is one of the Republicans in the House that opposes Obama's plan. Flake speaks with Carol Costello on American Morning today to discuss reducing the national deficit and to weigh in on how to create jobs in America.

"We're not out of the woods yet and if we want the economy to grow, we have to have competitive tax rates plus some kind of moratorium on regulation," Flake says. "If we want to create jobs, the last thing you want to do is slap another tax or a higher tax on capital gains or dividends."

This afternoon, President Obama will propose a "Buffett Tax" on people making more than $1 million a year as a part of his deficit recommendations to Congress, intended to generate $1.5 trillion dollars in new revenue, the majority of which will come from high-income households.

Obama's plan details that $800 billion will come from letting Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy expire, and another $400 billion will come from capping the value of itemized deductions and other exemptions for high-income housholds. The final $300 billion will come from closing loopholes that benefit oil and gas companies, private jet owners, and investment fund managers.

Jay Powell, Treasury Under Secretary under President George H.W. Bush, discusses the effectiveness of Obama's proposal on American Morning today and weighs in on whether or not the "Buffet Tax" is likely to make a real difference in the national deficit.