Posted on 11/10/2012 5:04:48 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Now that President Obama has been re-elected, the media is finally free to focus on something besides the clueless undecided voters in Ohio, Florida, and Colorado. The brightest and shiniest object that has attracted its attention is the "fiscal cliff" that we are expected to drive over at the end of the year unless Congress and the President can agree to turn the wheel or apply the brakes.
Fresh from his victory, the President took time today to let the nation know how he proposes to avoid the cliff: to raise taxes on those Americans who make more than $250,000 per year. He made clear than no one making less than that will be asked to pay any more. The two percent of taxpayers that the President is targeting earn 24.1% of all income and pay 43.6% (as of 2008) of all personal federal income taxes. Sounds like a fair share to me. But the four or five percent tax increases on those earners that are being proposed would only yield around $30 to $40 billion per year in added revenue, a drop in the federal bucket. Even if they were to double the amount that they pay our deficit would only be cut by about one third (even if those increases did not trigger an economic slowdown).
So what exactly is this looming menace, and why is it so dangerous? Stripped of its rhetorically charged language the fiscal cliff is simply a legal trigger that will trim the deficit in 2013 by automatically implementing spending cuts and tax increases. In other words, the government will spend less, and more of what it does spend will be paid for with taxes rather than debt. Isn't this exactly what both parties, and the public, more or less want?
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearmarkets.com ...
I agree - until the pain is felt across the Nation, and real suffering occurs, nobody will have the gonads to DEMAND a change in course. If sequestration occurs, and all of Zero’s plans for higher taxes, more expensive energy, and despotic control of the People kick in, the despair will set in, then turn to anger, and finally result in the People finding a collective voice. It will be ugly though - Waco and other government atrocities will pale in comparison...
Principled, the democrats have the advantage in the negotiations in that they don’t believe the debt is a serious problem, and most of the public agrees with them. the republicans are trying to solve a problem, the democrats are trying to get political advantage.
my view is the public thinking will change when they see one of the major industrialized countries go into a debt and hyperinflation death spiral.
The usa has over a million dollars per taxpayer in unfunded social security and medicare liabilities.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
this is not a sustainable situation, and tax increases just postpone reform and make the problem worse.
my thinking is republicans kick the can until one of europe, uk, japan collapses. then use the public focus on unsustainable welfare state to get real reform, because tax increases and fake defence cuts are not enough
Over the cliff and let the recession happen. It was going to happen anyway.
Thanks -
this makes good sense if one has faith in the American people to recognize that a crumbling of another country’s economy is a precursor to our fall.
It will be played as something different. It will be some offensive video that causes Italy to crumble.
Friendly amendment:
Over the cliff and let the recession happen. It WILL happen anyway.
Principled, if the eurozone endgame plays out with a few of the periphery countries leaving and everyone else lives happily ever after, then maybe the Kim Il Sung media in the USA will be able to portray it as unconnected to their excessive debt levels.
But if the entire eurozone goes into a death spiral, including Germany, Holland etc, then even America’s pathetic media will not be able to distract with stories about TomKat or the Kardashians
Amendment noted.
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