Old Shep Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I don't pretend to fully understand this, but over here it's being portrayed like it's the End Of Days. Is this a big deal, and if so, how big a deal is it? Could this in fact be what the Mayans were in a lather over, and they just got their dates wrong by 10 days? From what I've heard, it could add $3,500 to the average household's annual tax bill. If that's all it is, what's the problem? That's peanuts! Or are there other factors involved? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned_Devine Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Some things that will be impacted... -Massive defense cuts -Significant income tax increases -End of unemployment insurance for about 2 million people -Reduction of child tax credit by 50% In light of this Obama ended the federal wage freeze so the VP and Congress will get a raise in March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Like most things to do Washington DC and the media, it's much ado about nothing. Just something else to stoke the fear of the populace. Taxes are merely going back to what they were in the Clinton era before Bush ill-advisedly cut them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cecil. Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Like most things to do Washington DC and the media, it's much ado about nothing. Just something else to stoke the fear of the populace. Taxes are merely going back to what they were in the Clinton era before Bush ill-advisedly cut them. After reading a newspaper(uk). President good, Senate evil, is it that simple?. I always thought US politics was about checks & balances Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Shep Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 Some things that will be impacted... -Massive defense cuts -Significant income tax increases -End of unemployment insurance for about 2 million people -Reduction of child tax credit by 50% Well that doesn't sound so bad. In fact, it all sounds eminently sensible. Wait...does that mean I'm a closet Republican? Eww.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dawg Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Well that doesn't sound so bad. In fact, it all sounds eminently sensible. Wait...does that mean I'm a closet Republican? Eww.... Only if it was massive defense spending increase. You can stay in the closet as as cross dresser with this laundry list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjin-san Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cryingbluerain Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Just the usual Washington con game - let the sand out of the hourglass in order to BS you that there is a crisis and it must be fixed now...or else. How many times are we going to fall for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in_the_evening Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 If we "go over" the fiscal cliff: Deficit is cut in half! No dirty work required. Better yet, reset tax rates to what they were under (Saint) Ronald Reagan; Deficit is gone, surpluses return, no spending cuts needed. Anyone heard about the "Dairy Cliff"? Apparently a farm bill expires tonight, ending all price supports on milk. Milk will go from about 3.50 a gallon to somewhere between 6 and 8 dollars a gallon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjin-san Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 16+ trillion, *poof*? Right,... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in_the_evening Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 16+ trillion, *poof*? Right,... DEFICIT is gone, not DEBT. but we could begin to pay down the debt like we were doing under Clinton. It's not crazy hard to get back to surpluses, reset some tax rates, cut defense and non-defense spending, restructure some entitlements. Instead we have Washington trying to wipe their bottoms and they forgot to bring toilet paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Shep Posted January 1, 2013 Author Share Posted January 1, 2013 Looks like they didn't make it, huh? Time, perhaps, to resurrect an Olde English joke, slightly modified: Q: What do Princess Grace Of Monaco, Sue Barker and the US Economy have in common? A: They've all been fucked by Cliffs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in_the_evening Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 Not yet, gotta pass the House of Reps first. May not make it there, but I think it will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjin-san Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 DEFICIT is gone, not DEBT. but we could begin to pay down the debt like we were doing under Clinton. It's not crazy hard to get back to surpluses, reset some tax rates, cut defense and non-defense spending, restructure some entitlements. Instead we have Washington trying to wipe their bottoms and they forgot to bring toilet paper. For every $1 the US takes in,it spends $1.49,.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in_the_evening Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 For every $1 the US takes in,it spends $1.49,.... Correct. And if tax rates were reset to Reagan years, for every 1.49 we spend we would take in 1.49. See how that works? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjin-san Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 Correct. And if tax rates were reset to Reagan years, for every 1.49 we spend we would take in 1.49. See how that works? Reagan?WTF? We have a spending problem,...... Enjoy the fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 The OP is getting what he wanted, for people to start going at it..... Why even discuss this? Call your congressman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjin-san Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 The OP is getting what he wanted, for people to start going at it..... Why even discuss this? Call your congressman. They never answer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in_the_evening Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 Reagan?WTF? We have a spending problem,...... Enjoy the fall. Walter is right. I will leave with this thought: There is not one single respected deficit reduction plan that says we can fix our troubles only by cutting spending, or only by rising taxes. We need a common sense mixture of both. Enjoy the fall? I like every season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TypeO Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I think it's just bullshit that gives them something to blame tax increases on - it's not OUR fault, it's those Democrats / Republicans who let us go over the cliff. I notice they voted themselves another raise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagefan55 Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Is anyone still worried about the fiscal cliff? Our national debt is now approaching 18 trillion. I'm not sure what to think about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NealR2000 Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 It's a concept totally lost on the average person. It's like death. We basically refuse to accept it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagefan55 Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 It's a concept totally lost on the average person. It's like death. We basically refuse to accept it. Well put -- I completely agree. The good news is that American economic performance, and particularly the budget and deficit situation, seems to be improving. The Dow and S and P are now at all-time highs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles J. White Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 America is insolvent. There is no coming back. The only solution is deep dogmatic cuts to social programs in combination with deep dogmatic cuts to the military, and no one is prepared to say that running for office because they will be ignored Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in_the_evening Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 CJW is right, countless commissions have been appointed and all they say the same thing: "huge cuts to defense, huge cuts to social spending, and big tax hikes". Name a politician that wants to sell that, lol! Oddly, look at Russia in both 98 and (lesser) 2008. Defaulted on its debt, and now is fine, and countries line up to loan them money. (Russia's situation is hugely compex, as it assumed most of the USSR debt when then USSR dissolved). So there is a precedence for defaulting, though far more likely would be some sort of debt swap (we wipe out Country X's debt that they owe us, if they wipe out the debt we owe them). Then some sort of leveraged buyout, say 60 cents on the dollar. Most likely of all is continued burying of the head in the sand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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