Obama: GOP Position on Debt Ceiling Not 'Sustainable'

President Barack Obama, in his Wednesday news conference, did not mince words regarding Congressional Republicans' position on the debt ceiling.

Obama said the Republican position that they will not accept any tax increases as part of a deal to increase the debt limit is not sustainable, adding, everybody else has been willing to move off their maximalist position; they need to do the same, CBSNews.com reported Wednesday.

The U.S. Government's borrowing authority ends on August 2. A failure by Congressional Democrats and Republicans to reach a deal on the debt ceiling could result in an event most economists for decades thought was unfathomable - a default by the largest and most technologically advanced economy in the world.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has repeatedly underscored that failing to raise the debt ceiling will have no constructive outcomes for the nation's fiscal condition, the task of deficit reduction, or U.S. and global stock and bond markets.

Republicans argue that Congress should substantially cut government spending to cut the budget deficit, and see that as the essential act in the deficit reduction/debt ceiling issue. Meanwhile, Democrats insist that revenue increases must be a part of the agreement for any meaningful and enduring deficit reduction to occur.