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Subscribe to RSSWith three weeks to go to avoid the fiscal cliff, President Barack Obama will travel to a Detroit auto plan and attempt to sell his plan to raise taxes on the top two percent of Americans.
The “fiscal cliff” end game… If there’s going to be a deal, Obama, Boehner, and Congress need to start the heavy lifting ASAP… Kristol vs. the Wall Street Journal on caving on the tax rates… Motoring! Obama delivers remarks at 2:00 pm ET at a Detroit Diesel plant in Redford, MI… And in Michigan, the president will set foot in the state featuring the nation’s latest labor battle… The hits keep on coming for Susan Rice… The upcoming immigration push… Hillary and 2016… And meet Markwayne Mullen.
*** The end game: We’ve told you that the last couple of weeks in Washington’s fiscal debate have mostly been about P.R. and posturing. Like a student in college or a reporter working in the news business, the real work in Congress typically doesn’t happen until there’s a real deadline that’s rapidly approaching. Well, we’ve now entered that deadline phase in the negotiations between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner. If the plan is to get something passed by Friday, Dec. 21 (right before the Christmas holiday), then the legislation has to be written by Dec. 18. And that means that Obama and Boehner must reach an agreement by Dec. 14-15, if there’s going to be a deal. So the time for posturing and P.R. is over. This week, we’ve reached the phase where both sides will begin rolling up their sleeves to do the heavy negotiating. Both Obama and Boehner know this, which is why they did meet behind closed doors yesterday. The question now is: Will there be a BIG deal that includes serious entitlement hits in addition to major tax reform? Or will it be JUST taxes and a punt until the debt ceiling? There’s not much of an “in between” at this point.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, talks with reporters outside his office in the Capitol Dec. 7, 2012 in Washington, DC.
*** Kristol vs. the Wall Street Journal: In addition to yesterday’s news that the president and the speaker met, Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) became the latest GOP lawmaker to suggest that Republicans acquiesce on raising tax rates on the wealthy to get entitlement cuts. And that’s a stance the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page today criticizes. “So it's a shame that Republicans are playing into Mr. Obama's hands, negotiating in public among themselves, prematurely giving up on the tax issue and undermining House Speaker John Boehner in the process. Mr. Obama isn't going to blink on the budget if he thinks Republicans are going to blink first, and so far the emerging GOP position seems to be to surrender on taxes first and hope Mr. Obama will have mercy on them later on entitlements.” But the Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol hits back at the Journal. “Most Republicans will go along soon after January 1 with what will now be the Democrats' tax cutting agenda. If the House Republicans now follow the Wall Street Journal editors over the cliff, the only effect, I'm afraid, will be to turn a manageable tactical retreat in December into a panicked strategic rout in January.” There is good news for Boehner in all of this: The lack of consensus among conservatives gives Boehner more running room to cut the deal he thinks is best, rather than over-worrying about specific conservative constituencies. Remember, the House GOP leadership won’t say it publicly, but they’ve signaled privately that under the RIGHT circumstance, they’d go to the floor of the House with less than a majority of the majority.
Former Michigan Republican Governor John Engler, who is the president of the business roundtable, joins The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd to talk about President Barack Obama's trip the Michigan, the fiscal cliff, and Michigan's 'right to work' law.
*** Motoring! Your White House fiscal-cliff photo-op of the day takes place in Michigan, where the president delivers remarks at a Daimler Detroit Diesel plant at 2:00 pm ET in Redford. Per the Detroit Free Press, Daimler, which owns Detroit Diesel, is announcing “a new investment to expand U.S. production and jobs... The White House said the investment is expected to be $100 million or more and, with it, Daimler Trucks North America will become the first heavy-duty vehicle equipment manufacturer on the continent to build a fully integrated powertrain from on production facility.” So today’s even will be a mixture of the fiscal cliff and this Daimler news.
*** Michigan’s labor battle: Yet when Obama visits Michigan, he’ll be setting foot in the state featuring the nation’s latest labor battle. “With Michigan lawmakers poised Tuesday to give final passage of right-to-work legislation, unions and their supporters plan to mass outside the Capitol that day as part of a last-ditch bid to derail the fast-moving campaign to limit labor's power,” the Detroit News says. “If lawmakers reconcile the bills and pass a final version Tuesday — as expected — Gov. Rick Snyder has said he will sign it, making Michigan the 24th right-to-work state and dealing a major blow to organized labor in one of its traditional strongholds.” Out of all the new Republican governors who were elected in 2010, Michigan’s Rick Snyder was always viewed as the least ideological of the bunch. So when Scott Walker in Wisconsin, John Kasich in Ohio, or Rick Scott in Florida were pursuing controversial changes and legislation and confronting the labor movement, Snyder -- who calls himself “one tough nerd” -- stayed away from the ideological wars and focused on the economy. In fact, he even appeared to support Obama’s auto bailout. But now the Michigan governor finds himself knee deep in the same kind of controversy we saw in Wisconsin and Ohio. By the way, while we do expect Snyder to greet the president at the airport, don’t expect to see Snyder with the president at the Chrysler event because it’s taking place at a UAW facility.
*** Hits keep coming for Rice: It’s no longer Benghazi, or even the Keystone XL Pipeline. Critics of Susan Rice are now pointing to the Obama administration’s failure to intervene in the atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The New York Times: “Specifically, these critics — who include officials of human rights organizations and United Nations diplomats — say the administration has not put enough pressure on Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, to end his support for the rebel movement whose recent capture of the strategic city of Goma in Congo set off a national crisis in a country that has already lost more than three million people in more than a decade of fighting. Rwanda’s support is seen as vital to the rebel group, known as M23.” And the Times reports that Rice has been viewed as shielding Kagame. And then there’s a New York Times op-ed from journalist Salem Solomon, who accuses Rice of showing “a surprising and unsettling sympathy for Africa’s despots.” This is the problem for Rice as long as President Obama doesn’t officially appoint her (or John Kerry) to fill the secretary of state position: She’s dangling like a piñata for critics to whack, without an official campaign to defend her. But with the fiscal cliff taking up more and more time and this secretary of state issue becoming such a headache for the administration, there’s a very real chance the president doesn’t announce any new cabinet members until AFTER the new year.
*** The upcoming immigration push: Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Times noted that the Obama White House is preparing for a big push on comprehensive immigration reform after the “fiscal cliff” negotiations end. “Senior White House advisors plan to launch a social media blitz in January, and expect to tap the same organizations and unions that helped get a record number of Latino voters to reelect the president. Cabinet secretaries are preparing to make the case for how changes in immigration laws could benefit businesses, education, healthcare and public safety. Congressional committees could hold hearings on immigration legislation as soon as late January or early February.” More: “Democratic strategists believe there is only a narrow window at the beginning of the year to get an initiative launched in Congress, before lawmakers begin to turn their attention to the next election cycle and are less likely to take a risky vote on a controversial bill.”
*** Hillary and 2016: On Sunday, the New York Times ran a “Hillary 2016” story, and we all should prepare for these kind of stories once a month until she decides to run (or not) for president. “Right now, aides and friends say, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s plan looks like this: exit the State Department shortly after Inauguration Day and then seclude herself to rest and reflect on what she wants to do for the next few years. Those who have invited her for 2013 engagements have been told not to even ask again until April or May.” The Times does make this important point: If she does want to keep the presidential door open, her options are limited. “The more serious she is about 2016, the less she can do — no frank, seen-it-all memoir; no clients, commissions or controversial positions that could prove problematic. She will be under heavy scrutiny even by Clinton standards, discovering what it means to be a supposedly private citizen in the age of Twitter. With the election four years away — a political eon — she will have to tend and protect her popularity, and she may find herself in a cushy kind of limbo, unable to make many decisions about her life until she makes the big one about another White House try.”
*** Meet Markwayne Mullin: NBC’s Carrie Dann has profiled 10 new members to watch in the next Congress. Today’s profile: Markwayne Mullen. When his father's illness forced Mullin to quit college and take over the family plumbing business, the 20-year-old and his wife turned a flailing enterprise into a small eastern Oklahoma empire. Mullin, now 35, won the House seat vacated by retiring Rep. Dan Boren, running under the banner "A rancher. A businessman. Not a politician!" The Tulsa native -- a social conservative who vehemently opposes "amnesty" proposals -- has promised to take a no-frills attitude to the halls of Congress. Casually dressed on election night, he joked with supporters that he defied his campaign staff's request that he wear a suit to deliver his victory speech. "They got me this far, and boots are going to take me all the way there and bring me all the way back" from Washington, he said.
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47, You mean until you Dems have no more money to spend. Enjoy your power for a few years.
Everyones taxes are going to go up. If you dont believe that, then I have some swamp land I would like to sell you.
So true!
Must there really be all this name calling in here with such vulgar names, exactly how old are you people, that's for both sides Republicans and Democrats in here.
take a deep breath and hold until your standards are met
Just my point. All you can republicans can do to prove your arguments is to call people foul pathetic names that seems to some how make you think your argument is stronger.
Melissa, you had a great post. Now you are beginning to succumb to the depths you are criticizing. Do not go there. Your argument was stronger in the OP.
Peace, Myst
when America gets the bill for dem plans ....that will likely change
Obama couldn't properly manage a lemonade stand and this is the guy who was elected by 52% of Americans!!
Very scary, isn't it
If the tax rates on the top 2% go up the rich will still be rich and Barry's zombies will still be jealous. As jealousy was the whole basis of Barry's campaign.
The federal government doesn't tax ANYONE based on how rich they happen to be - not constitutional.
Maybe you should research the estate tax
You don't like the estate tax? Don't have an estate!
In California 1% of the people pay 80% of the estate tax. That means that 1% of the people own 80% of the wealth. Are they paying 80% of the taxes? Not even close.
Time for the Repulsican Congress to bend over and "take it," like the b******s that they are.
Let the demz own the whole F'n mess.
proof positive the dumbing down of ameicha has habbened....oberma elactted
I wouldn't be surprised if the Republicans try to blame Obama for Star Trek being off the air.
hey coop its your worthless man that blames everybody eles not the GOP
Blame for our current mess was half of the Prez's last campaign....
Everyone knows Bush took Star Trek off of the air in addition to causing every problem that now burdens America.
see you re-elect the dictator and then he goes back on what he said he would do AGAIN and now we are held hostage by this thing in office that just want to control at any cost to his "main Street" that he claimed he would help but instead ran all of main streets bills. Remember it was Obama that put into law the action that happen if a deal is not made.He is the one that has not done his job in last 3 years with the budget that has lead too this point.We all know that he claims its somebody eles at fault just like everything eles.
WELCOME TOO OBAMA's United Social America, you voted for it American's(and illegals)
Good luck trying to get your GED. You will have to improve your spelling, punctuation and grammer however. I know that English is not your mother tongue so applaud you for trying as clearly it must be very difficult as evidenced bu your post.
Is it any wonder why the Speaker of the House doesn't want to raise taxes on the rich!
Its because he is one of the rich!
He is a millionaire!
That fact alone makes him the enemy in your eyes?
Obama is worth about 15 million. Democrat millionaires in both houses outnumber Repubs by a good margin.
Have you ever heard of a little document called the Constitution ? Check it out... it's cool.
Let each man receive according to his merit.
Not... because they have worked their butt off for a bunch of money while I sat back and watched the telly, they should be giving more money to me so I can buy more lottery tickets with my EBT card...
Hey Miss White have you ever looked , you have middle class elected too house all the time and after couple terms they are muli-millionaires, BTW if they are a couple they all make more than 250,000 plus all bonus of dinners, gifts, trips, and outings on tax payers.Not to mention the life long pention that is paid with oversea investments via TSP ( the feds 401K )
Is it any wonder why the Speaker of the House doesn't want to raise taxes on the rich!
Its because he is one of the rich!
He is a millionaire!
OMG I CANT BELIEVE THE US HAS SOMEBODY THIS DUMB THAT CAN VOTE OBAMA HAS MADE MORE IN LAST 4 years then he did before office.Obama has more wealth the most of the house together.
spooky PART Blamo , Democrat millionaires in both houses many where not before the where elected.
And with Fed spending we know they can't budge so where does all the money they have come from.
Tanorexic Boehner looks like he's gonna puke - STOP SMOKING, you IDIOT (Smoker of the House)!
Hey he is one of the tax payers that coughs up 80B a year in extra taxes.BTW don't bring up health BS you don't see fat tax for all welfare that feed kids McD's
Fiscal cliff does have a certain ring to it...but for the Republican Party, this situation is far more like a life-or-death duel between sanity and madness- on the crumbling edge of a volcano.
It's definitely about to erupt- no doubt about that- but the victor will determine the nature and the severity of that eruption- a rare privilege indeed.
If sanity wins, they suffer a painful but survivable meltdown as they reinvent their party, but if madness wins, they will suffer a reprisal of Krakatoa and face the explosive anger of an entire nation- leaving nothing but a smoking, sinking crater behind.
Extremists with unsustainable agendas are often destructive- and the damage done to a once sane and conservative political platform is going to take a long time to repair, even if they manage to somehow eliminate the corrupting and destabilizing involvement of both the corporate citizen and the American Taliban.
James Baker, Bush41's Sec of State was on CNN Fareed Zaccaria GPS yesterday and said that if the GOP doesn't get its act together and start including ALL Americans, they are going to become irrelevant
Too late. They are already irrelevant. Pelosi and Reid are going to take away their powers of extortion.
I just sit back and laugh at all those that think taxing the "rich" more heavily is going to make their life better. What a joke. You people are too stupid to figure out that it doesnt matter how much money the morons in DC pull in, it is never enough. Taking more money from a certain segment of our society is not going to do anything to solve any of the problems facing us.
But Barry's zombies will feel better because the enemy has been wounded even if it is of no benefit to them.
Somehow my life will be better if you take more money from the doctor who lives down the street.
War isn't free.
Chris, Dorr, MI - Please note that you get a lump of coal in your stocking if you were bad.
simple fix, trash the whoe tax system and go to the following. A specific amount of tax on all goods bought new only. this way everyone pays the same % no matter what they spend. Also a small income tax with only 2 rates none annd 10%. everyone making less than the mean average of poverty pays no income tax. and every dollar above that level everyone pays 10%. so if the level is 17,000 some one making less than 17K pays no income tax but still pays a tax into the system when they buy goods. for every dollar over 17,000 you have to pay 10%. for example if you make 25K you would only pay 10% of the amount over 17K or 10% of the 8K. this would leave you with an 800 dollar tax bill. This way everyone pays their fair share. and there are no deductions with exemption of mortgage deduction and business gets deductions for new equipment and normal payroll/ expenditures to keep the door open. right now the tax system is unfair and with obama is only getting worse
Good plan. Sales tax does not help the federal deficit, however.
yes it does. make the sales tax a split between the local or state and the rest to the feds. lets say a 10% total sales tax with maybe a 60/40 split 60% local and 40% fed. also the people in public office can not make more than the average pay of the private workers in their district make. this way if they want a raise they must raise the local people income by helping business and growth.
It is clear that democrats and republicans dislike each other and hold each other in contempt. They believe the other side is stupid, self serving or ill intentioned. I am in business and do not negotiate with people I feel that way about (although there are very few). Obama no longer has to negotiate because he has been re elelcted and the other side can't and hold their party together. Looks like the cliff and we are so polarized we have no choice. The only thing that would be funny about this is that both sides are equally responsible for this mess and yet they are like children. They take no responsibility and blame it entirely on the other side.
Negotiations takes two parties willing to openly talk or there are no negotiations and it is nothing but a one sided dictatorship. Most people here seem to be blaming the GOP and completely ignoring the fact that Obama has all but told the GOP it is his way or he is willing to financially ruin this country to get what he wants . What really gets me is the fact that to his sheep, this is completely the right thing to do.
Folks time to stop playing politics and start holding those responsible for their actions responsible and that includes people on both sides of this circus that we call Washington DC. Did we just elect a POTUS to do the will of the people or a petty dictator who gets what he wants, when he wants it and how he wants it? Does Congress work for us or for themselves or worse yet their respective political party? It is time we shake things up in Washington and make them sit up and take notice that there are still enough responsible people left in this country to remove those we put in office if the forget who they work for (legally of course). I can't help but laugh at the fact that in 2010 we put the GOP in control of the House to do exactly what they are trying to do and now we are condemning them for it. Are we a bunch of hypocrites or what?
No Obama is not totally to blame but then again neither are the members of the GOP. Mr. Obama NEGOTIATE in good faith and GOP do the same! In case you don't know the meaning of the word negotiate please look it up and do so soon!
He has and when Speaker Bonehead came back it was an empty bag. Read Paul Kruger (Nobel Laureate in Economics). The GOP come back was nothing more than the Ryan Plan revisited. A bottom line with a big star in the middle that doesn't explain how to get there. And now other noted economists are reading the same thing. Stop watching Fux.
The GOP finds itself in this predicament because their natural behavior for the last 4 years has been to do nothing. Stimulus, no. Healthcare reform, no. Debt ceiling, no.
Just the other day, McConnell filibustered a bill that HE himself had submitted.
Now, to avert the fiscal cliff, the GOP must actually do something. But they probably won't. They could extend the tax cuts for 98% of all Americans right now. Such a bill has passed the Senate already. The GOP house could pass it right this second. But to do so requires Bohener's house to do something.
But the House GOP can't vote on any bill apparently, unless it also outlaws all abortions. Otherwise they revert to form, doing nothing.
I put something in front of NOTHING which is what Obama and the Democrats have presented to date. At best you could call their so called ideas as a half baked "Robin Hood" scheme that has been tried and failed many times in other parts of the world and now Obama wants us to believe that because he has tagged it with a different name, it will work here.
Currently the 1% that Obama wants to "pay their fair share," pay 86% of ALL FEDERAL INCOME TAXES paid in this country. THAT IS 86% OF ALL FEDERAL INCOME TAXES and Obama has some how convinced the unknowing masses that this is not their fair share????? Not to mention the small point in question of what are we going to do when we run out of the 1%'s money to spend to fund the free this and free that that Obama has promised. Where exactly is the money going to come from if the 1% are no longer citizens of this country or are broke like the rest? it sure as hell won't come from jobs because Obama is making sure job growth is slow, to put it kindly.
What the hell is Faux news? Is this a simple minded attempt at sarcasm that is supposed to mean that the only real news is CNN ,CBS, NBC or MSNBC. Aren't these the same people who report only what Obama does right and refuse to tell the whole story about Obama's many failures as POTUS? Not to mention to failures of the Demorats in congress to negotiate in good faith much like Obama. OH how soon people forget the infamous speech by Obama when it came to increasing the national debt last time "I don't care what the Republicans propose, it is dead in the water."Proving once again that the United States of America is no longer the land of the independent thinkers who have original ideas, but rather it is becoming the land of the easily lead astray and Obama is loving it.
John F. Kennedy once said "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country." Today this country is full of "what is in it for me" people who wouldn't know an original idea if it fell from the sky and hit them in the head, but are happy to let the federal government tell them what to think, what to do and when to think it and do it.
No I don't need Fox news or any other person to tell me what is quite apparent and that is that the United States of America is dying slowly much like the frog in a pot of water that is slowly heated to a boil and too many of the citizens are the proverbial frog. People don't want to believe this because to do so is hard and believing that ever thing is OK is easy. Obama is maneuvering us right where he wants us. Soon the only ideas for running this country will come from the Democrats and when they fail, (and they will fail), Obama will convince us that it is still not his or the Democrats fault. We are headed to a cliff and Obama is the trail boss that is driving us like a bunch of stupid sheep.
I don't know about the rest of you on this thread, but I'm tired of this "dog and pony show" put on by Boehner and Obama. All these two clowns want is attention and their usual photo ops. I say we make them take off those fancy suits and put on some real clothes and get to work. I promise you this, nothing is going to get done unless we hold these Bozo's responsible and hold their asses to the fire.
I think all the spending needs to stop it will anyway when they run out of tax payers money.
President Obama said that we could pay for PPACA with the the money from Medicare when we cleaned up the fraud.
My question is why didn't we clean up the fraud 1st? Now, we still have the fraud, and still have to pay for PPACA as well.
Cut some spending and maybe folks will better accept your wishes Mr President.
Peace, Myst
myst
Remember who were are dealing with. A pathological liar.
MysticMyst, you're talking about somebody who won't close the border and stop the illegals and the drug cartels. What possible gain will he get if he actually cleans up the Medicare fraud? He's a career politician, if it doesn't benefit him somehow, don't expect it to happen. That's the unfortunate truth.
To the liberals..the country is split 50/50. Has been for years. This is the way the political elite want it..it gives them more power and since they rule an under-educated population that is the way it will stay. Don't believe it ? Start comparing political speeches from the 1990's to today..Either what they have been doing has never worked..so for some reason more of the same will work...or it has worked to keep the country split and them in power. The fiscal cliff 'discussions' are all hype. If they wanted to fix the fiscal problems they would
1. Simplify the tax law..everyone who has an income pays a flat 10%. No deductions, no exemptions for anyone. This is 'fair'.
If you've earned $100, then you pay in $10. If you've earned $1,000,000 then you pay in $10,000. No way out for ANYBODY.
No I don't believe Warren Buffet who structures deals to AVOID paying taxes and who is currently in a dispute with the IRS. Anyone who is rich & who says that the rich should pay more taxes and who hasn't already given away 75% of their wealth (yep they can simply write a check to the IRS and do this) does NOT believe what they are saying. If you're gonna talk the talk then walk the walk. This includes all of you rich Hollywood types.
2. Stop sending jobs overseas (GM is opening 11 factories in China) by reverting ALL regulations to what they were in 1990.
3. Implement the budget used in 1990.
Boehner and McConnell will do what they and those before them have always done, speak strongly, threaten, shake their fists..just before the deadline, have their typical spine-ectomy and cave. Vote all of Congress a pay raise. Go off on their mult-million dollar vacation to be rested for the next session of gluttony. Look behind the curtain all of you Dorothy's out there..there are not 2 parties. They present themselves that way but they are both working diligently to make sure our families eke out a living while they live the lives we dream of, vacations, no money worries, kids getting the best education. With our kids getting barely a 6th grade education while theirs get private educations..whom do you think will be ruling whom in 20 years ? The Prez alone is spending 4 million on a 20 day vacation to Hawaii...have you received your invite to join them yet ? Why do we need to be told where to live, what to drive, what job is 'right' for us ? What do they know about the gifts we were born with and the dreams we aspire to. Why does someone with a government or professorial title get to tell us what is best for us ? We need to recognize that we have only a single party system. We have been returned to our European roots....where the political elite ruling class govern the peasants. The peasants lives are limited to working where, when, and how the elite mandate. Since we are only granting our kids a 6th grade education at best their future is limited. We need a party which recognizes us as individuals...each gifted at birth..entitled to the destiny we make.. not a party who believes that redistribution (this used to be called stealing) is needed so that we all are forced to live the same mediocre life..burdened by taxes..to fuel their lifestyle.
Frugal: President Obama is paying for that vacation out of his own money, and it's certainly no where close to $4M! As for the travel to and from, that's a constitutional thing.....he has to be protected no matter where he goes and we have to pay for it. Nothing new; nothing different. And, our president deserves a vacation on occasion, especially the holidays. After all, both the Congress and the Senate are going home for the holidays....do you begrudge the president the same opportunity? Ex-President Bush took more vacations to Texas than any other president in the past or currently....didn't hear anyone complaining about that!
As for the tax situation....I think the President should let the Bush Tax deal expire on everyone; however, I think the tax increases for the middle class should be phased in gradually as the economy gets stronger. I don't mind paying additional taxes to pay for the roads I drive on, the police and fire departments that I depend on, the military that protects me, etc., but I could ill afford to pay the entire increase immediately......which the upper 2% probably wouldn't even feel in the least. So, phase in the tax increase to the middle class gradually....it certainly wouldn't hurt, especially if the economy continues to grow as it is.
I also believe that, for younger people, the age for Medicare should be raised from 65 to 67. When I turned 65, I resented the fact that I had to sign up for Medicare when I didn't need it. I still work full time, get a nice health care package for a fairly reasonable cost (although it did go up 3% this year, but that's nothing unusual), and I certainly didn't need to sign up for Medicare. However, I was basically "forced" to sign up for at least Part A (hospitalization). Why can't we sign up for Medicare when we get a little older than 65.....perhaps make it so we can sign up anytime between Age 65 and Age 67, depending on our circumstances, without any penalties. Same goes for Social Security.....instead of age 62, raise the age to 65.....wouldn't hurt in the least. Younger people are living in a different world....they will live longer due to better food choices, etc. As for those who are currently retired or close to being retired, leave it where it is....."grandfather" it if you must for people over a certain age (like maybe 55). Anyone younger than 55 can go by the higher age limits.
As for welfare....I have to agree with someone else on this vine that said NO MORE children if you're on welfare, and if you do have more children; you better be prepared to pay for them. And, why doesn't the Welfare Dept. go after the father's of these children for support payments? Trust me, if I had a child who got pregnant by some stupid guy.....I'd hunt that guy down and make him pay child support until that child turns 18! Not sure why the Welfare Department can't do the same....would probably save the taxpayers a couple of bucks! AND, why not tell people on welfare, especially those who are considered "freeloaders," and they know who they are, that they have a certain period of time to find a job.....any job.....and get themselves OFF of welfare or at least partially off of it? When I went to Korea during my military career....poor people would be sweeping the sidewalks, washing buildings, cleaning the gutters, etc. to pay back the country for supporting them....great idea to me! Put these people to work doing SOMETHING....no more sitting at home watching soap operas!!
Anyway....just my opinion if anyone is interested.
There will be no deal. Obama wants the tax rate for all to go up, and mandatory cuts to go through. He will just blame it on bush, or something else. He will look like a hero. That's all he cares about, his public perception. He could give a @!$%# about the normal, hard working, diligent people out there. This country is headed down the toilet, there will be nothing left for the next generation. WE NEED TO STOP RECKLESSLY SPENDING. Tax all you want, it means nothing to a 1.3 trillion yearly debt!
If we go off the cliff, you'll get lots and lots of spending cuts.
And the house GOP could extend the cuts for the 98% right this second. The Senate has passed such a bill. The GOP do nothing house, won't vote on it because they know it would pass.
Not enough spending cuts. Obama will just add to the spending through other means. I have not seen a credible budget out of DC in many years. Both sides are jokers. Dems and republicans both. Any one who trusts and believes in DC is foolish. Don't defend either side, they are all in it for there own gain.
http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/EW5IdwltaAc?rel=0
This says it all!
disatisfied
That should be required viewing for every citizen.
The fiscal cliff is never accomplished early and each time the news media makes it sounds like we're all doomed. There is no reason to me why they have to get it done early. Let them wheel and deal and both sides can get more of what they want.