Free Republic

The latest band-aid on the fiscal abyss is: 1) Raise $1.2 trillion in taxes, 2) increase tax rates on household making $400,000 and above and 3) cuts $1.22 trillion in government spending. Over ten years, of course. I say band-aid because it raises only $120 billion per year (12% of current deficit) while cutting l$122 billion in spending per year (also about 12% of the deficit). That is a measly 24% of the deficit each year over ten years. Once again, they simply can’t reduce the trillion dollar deficits through income taxes. It must be done through spending cuts. And...

The latest band-aid on the fiscal abyss is: 1) Raise $1.2 trillion in taxes, 2) increase tax rates on household making $400,000 and above and 3) cuts $1.22 trillion in government spending. Over ten years, of course. I say band-aid because it raises only $120 billion per year (12% of current deficit) while cutting l$122 billion in spending per year (also about 12% of the deficit). That is a measly 24% of the deficit each year over ten years. Once again, they simply can’t reduce the trillion dollar deficits through income taxes. It must be done through spending cuts. And...

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: ...By now you have heard about - you might in fact be tired of hearing about that so-called fiscal cliff. That's the package of automatic spending cuts and tax rate hikes that will go into effect if Congress and the White House can't agree on a plan to reduce the deficit by the end of the year. The speaker and the president of the United States met over the weekend to talk privately, but there's been a lot of public debate about it too, on the public affairs shows and in press conferences, and even some campaigning....

Over the past two days, the yield on the Treasury 10 year rose from 1.6451% to 1.7213%, about 7.6 basis points. Somehow, investors didn’t get The Fed’s memo about more monetary easing. The recovery from the recession (which ended June 2009 according to the National Bureau of Economic Research) has been slower than molasses. 1. U6 Unemployment/Underemployment remains at daunting levels. 2. Salaries and Wages (divided by GDP) continue to fall. 3. The M1 Money Multiplier seems to have leveled out at a low altitude signifying that banks are not lending as much as previously. 4. The M2 Money Velocity...

"By GOLLY! We can pay for ALL of it - the clean environment, green energy, health care, improvements in education, mortgage reliet, social security reform - ALL of it - "

There was a nice piece in the Los Angeles Times on the fate of the mortgage interest deduction. President Obama’s deficit commission (aka, Simpson-Bowles) proposed lowering the limit on mortgage principal eligible for a deduction to $500,000 from the current $1 million, removing any break for interest on a second home and turning the deduction into a tax credit capped at 12% of interest paid. “This is a sacred cow to the real estate industry, and it’s almost an entitlement to homeowners,” said Anthony Sanders, a real estate finance professor at George Mason University. “They could cut it in half...

In an interview with Bloomberg TV this week, Obama also hinted at a possible long-range solution, saying lower tax rates for the wealthy could be negotiated as part of broader tax reform in 2013, but only after those rates increase now.

Deficit already at $292 billion for fiscal 2013By Erik Wasson - 12/07/12 12:28 PM ET The federal budget deficit has reached $292 billion just two months into fiscal 2013, the Congressional Budget Office estimated Friday. That is a fast start for a fiscal year that CBO already predicted will have a deficit of more than $1 trillion — the fifth year in a row that has happened, all under President Obama. The deficit was $172 billion in November, CBO estimates. For October and November, the deficit is $57 billion more than the deficit for the first two months of fiscal...

There is a lot of talk of the upcoming fiscal cliff that is looming if a budget deal is not reached by the end of the year between President Obama and Republicans in Congress. If this comes to pass some disastrous consequences will hit us: Among them are the end of 2011's temporary payroll tax cuts — the result of which will be a 2 percent tax increase for most workers. There will also be an end to several tax breaks for businesses, and changes in the alternative minimum tax (AMT) that could result in more people having to pay...

Some conservatives are saying that Republicans should let Obama own the economy. Essentially give him what he wants with regard to tax hike, spending, etc. so that Republicans could not be labelled obstructionist. This is garbage! This strategy will mean that Obama will be able to put more in his Santa sack to give to his constituents. More will become dependents and more will love Obama. The Republicans should not "give" Obama anything. They need to fight for lower tax rates and reduced spending. If it means we go over the cliff so be it. The House must be ruled...

And we should end the wars now too! Wait a minute ... isn't that what Obama campaigned for in 2008? Why hasn't it happened yet? He can do anything with executive privilege, right. I mean, congress is not acting. They have not presented a budget to Obama that he would accept for 3 years now. That do nothing congress. They have bad ideas, like implementing the deficit reduction plans proposed by the appointed Obama deficit commission. Poor Obama ... this feuding is just going to ruin his Christmas vacation plans.

US President Barack Obama speaks on the fiscal cliff negotiations and business relations during the Washington Business Roundtable in Washington. President Obama's lead negotiator in the "fiscal cliff" talks said the administration is "absolutely" willing to allow the package of deep automatic spending cuts and across-the-board tax hikes to take effect Jan. 1, unless Republicans drop their opposition to higher income tax rates on the wealthy. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in an interview with CNBC that both sides are "making a little bit of progress" toward a deal to avert the "cliff" but remain stuck on Obama's desired rate...

If no deal is reached this year, then on 1 January, daily tax withholdings will rise by an average of about $4 per person. Any money actually deducted from pay checks will be refunded if a deal is subsequently reached that returns tax rates to 2012 levels. Government spending probably won't change at the start of the new year, since President Obama has considerable discretion over the flow of spending. No one can think that this modest increase in tax withholdings would plunge the economy into a recession, but the Wall Street types seeking to dismantle social security and Medicare...

The ObamaCare fiscal cliffBy: John Hayward 11/30/2012 02:34 PM While we’re busy listening to President Obama demand a $1.6 trillion tax increase on some people as the price for disarming part of a $1.2 trillion tax bomb aimed at other people, let’s not forget that he’s already detonated a $1.058 trillion tax warhead on all of us: ObamaCare. As the House Ways and Means Committee noted last summer, in the wake of the Supreme Court decision upholding ObamaCare, it contains 21 distinct tax increases, “a dozen of which target Americans earning less than $200,000 per year for singles or $250,000...

I was on Fox News with Tom Sullivan yesterday to discuss the housing “recovery.” Rick Sharga (formerly of RealtyTrac and now Carrington Mortgage Holdings) was the guest before me and said that we are witnessing the sustainable recovery of the housing market. I simply pointed out that the “recovery” thus far is dominated by hedge funds, corporations, cash transactions and foreign investors and not the traditional family purchase of housing. So, it may be a recovery, but not your father’s Oldsmobile (so to speak). And don’t forget the fiscal cliff and the large volume of foreclosed properties about to hit...

Reports are pouring out of Washington about the Fiscal Cliff negotiations. A lot of people observing the negotiations are outraged by what is going on. Instead of being outraged, and there is plenty of time for outrage; we should take a look at what is going on. If you analyze the negotiations, it tells you a lot about what is going on in Washington and what may happen. What is going on inside these negotiations?

[Nothing raises the ire of Republicans in Congress like the specter of Obama taking matters into his own hands. If the White House goes that route and raises the debt ceiling by executive order, Boehner and his leadership team would likely take immediate legal action to halt the debt ceiling increase, sources familiar with his thinking said.] -Snip- President Barack Obama made a demand of House Speaker John Boehner near the end of their first White House meeting on the fiscal cliff: Raise the debt limit before year’s end. Boehner responded: “There is a price for everything.” And with that...

Does Nancy Pelosi have any leverage in fiscal cliff talks?By Sargent and Greg Sargent The Washington Post Posted Nov 29, 2012 08:51 PM EST With John Boehner continuing to (publicly) rule out a hike in tax rates for the rich, Nancy Pelosi fired back today by drawing her own hard lines. She told reporters that another round of big spending cuts is unacceptable, and in an interview with NPR, she rebuffed the idea of raising the Medicare eligibility age. Which raises a question: Does Pelosi have any leverage in the talks to begin with? The Beltway chatter holds that she...

Washington (CNN) - After two years of endless debate and a national election, Democrats and Republicans on Thursday found themselves right where they started -- blaming each other for stagnant negotiations on taxes and government spending. This time, they face an imminent deadline of automatic tax increases and spending cuts in 33 days -- the looming fiscal cliff at the end of the year that economists fear could cause another recession. After meeting separately with President Barack Obama's point man on the talks, top congressional Democrats and Republicans said the failure to move forward was the other side's fault. House...

Word is slowly seeping out for Washington about a grand bargain being worked out between Barack Obama and John Boehner. As we hear about the negotiations, the obvious question to be asked is, does Boehner and the Republican leadership in the House even have a clue? What is going on that is so dangerous? The Republicans are going to surrender on taxes. According to published reports a deal is going to be made. It is your typical Republican deal. The GOP will agree to a trillion in new taxes and there will be spending cuts in the future. When will...