Dayton, Obama meet to talk 'fiscal cliff'
With less than a month to go before automatic tax hikes and federal spending cuts kick in, Gov. Mark Dayton was in Washington to discuss the fiscal cliff with President Barack Obama.
Dayton was part of a bipartisan group of six governors who met with Obama, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and other top officials at the White House.
The governor has been a strong supporter of Obama's efforts to raise tax rates on the wealthy. But Dayton said this trip, organized by the nonpartisan National Governors Association, was about asking for more clarity about how the tax and spending changes would affect state budgets.
"We all know these belt-tightenings are going to occur but as this point we just don't what," Dayton said.
The president asked the governors what areas they most wanted to see spared from any budget cuts. Dayton's response: health care and education.
Wisconsin's Gov. Scott Walker was among the other governors visiting the White House.
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