[gotribe]

1932 all over again, they never learn.

[Gaffer]

What all this really is, the to-be-coming revelations about this calamity or that calamity, Benghazi et al, is the same thing as Obama getting up from the bed of his latest “one-night stand” and saying “By the way, you need to get yourself checked out - I gots the Herpes.”

[Doogle]

...back when they started 401k’s I remember asking people, “think about it, the government and the banks getting together to do you a favor?”.....the the secondary question,
What’s the tax rate going to be when you need to be drawing on it?

[napscoordinator]

Well if they don’t do anything before 31 December, we all will have higher taxes regardless. Those damn Democrats are seriously in charge right now. All Reid has to do is block whatever the House sends over until 31 December and we are all screwed. Ugh!!!!

[Truth29]

"1932 all over again, they never learn."

Maybe they do - equal distribution of the misery, vast increase in dependency, rising support for a government that feeds you, etc. Sounds like an Obama plan.

[Alberta's Child]

I'm not so sure that I agree with Gross here. Higher dividend taxes may simply cause the stock market to revert back to its pre-2001 days when blue chip stocks that pay steady dividends lose their appeal in favor of growth stocks that pay no dividends but offer opportunities for capital appreciation.

In fact, I would even suggest that some economic growth in this country has been limited over the last 10 years simply because the tax code doesn't provide the same incentives like this that used to be in place.

These major corporations are not stupid. Change the tax code on them, and they'll simply change the way they do business to reflect the changes to their bottom line.

[formosa]

Watch out my fellow Americans you are about to mugged to support fools who have not learned to so much as to cook a meal. Stay safe and be prepared. They will literally end in chaos when it all runs out.

[Alberta's Child]

I would also add that the U.S. is not going to get out of its fiscal mess unless future hikes are more regressive than the current tax environment. In other words, people who pay little or no taxes today are going to be expected to pay something in the future (hence the appeal of a VAT).

How ironic is it that the election of Barack Obama may very well drive the decline of the "47%" -- simply because a lot of those people are going to soon join their "53%" counterparts as taxpaying citizens.

[CincyRichieRich]

I don’t see where Boehner has anything to lose; he should play the game of chicken, get Fox and any other cameras which will cover him and start educating like Rush says our side needs to do:

* constitution
* what the fiscal cliff means
* taxes
* how each impacts YOU and the reality of not doing anything

Otherwise, he and congress WILL be blamed and yes, the country has proven they are stupid and gullible.

[ctdonath2]

Federal revenue never exceeds 20% of GDP.
Never.
We’re at 19%.
Raising taxes won’t work.