Obama to Congress: The Time For Immediate Action on Fiscal Cliff is Now

Townhall.com ^ | December 28, 2012 | Leah Barkoukis

[Kaslin]

So how did the last-ditch fiscal cliff meeting go this afternoon? Not great. President Obama again put forth the scaled-back version of the proposal he pitched last week.

A source familiar with the meeting told CNBC that Obama was not making a new offer; just laying out what he thinks can pass the House and Senate. That includes keeping the tax cut for those making up to $250,000 and an extension of unemployment insurance for 2 million people. He will then ask the participants what they are willing to support, and if they don't have a counterproposal that can pass the House and the Senate he will ask for an up or down vote.

President Obama held a brief press conference after the talks, calling the meeting “good and constructive” and that he’s “modestly optimistic” that an agreement may still be able to be reached in time. One of the points he highlighted during the presser was that he’ll let Sens. Reid and McConnell try to reach a deal on the income threshold for tax hikes but if they don’t reach an agreement, the president said he will “urge Senator Reid to bring to the floor a basic package for an up or down vote – one that protects the middle class from an income tax hike, extends the vital lifeline of unemployment insurance to 2 million Americans looking for a job and lays the groundwork for future cooperation on more economic growth and deficit reduction.”

Senate leaders are in last-minute bipartisan ‘cliff’ talks with the White House this evening.

[Ingtar]

How do you have more economic growth and deficit reduction when none has been seen so far?

[FlingWingFlyer]

The DemocRAT Kneejerk "Crisis" Chant

What do we want?!

Higher taxes on "the rich!

When do we want it?!

Now!!!

Just don't you dare try to raise MY taxes!

[PGalt]

The time for throwing socialists off the cliff is NOW.

“Socialism Is Legal Plunder” - Bastiat

[combat_boots]

Bane 0bama speaks.

[ZULU]

How about tossing Boehner over the Cliff?

[Sooth2222]

“urge Senator Reid to bring to the floor a basic package for an up or down vote – one that protects the middle class from an income tax hike, extends the vital lifeline of unemployment insurance to 2 million Americans looking for a job and lays the groundwork for future cooperation on more economic growth and deficit reduction.”

For an encore, Sen. Reid will walk on water.

[SkyPilot]

extends the vital lifeline of unemployment insurance to 2 million Americans looking for a job

Gotta keep paying people not to work, dontchaknow.

This is insane.

From 2008-2012, almost 3/4 of a Trillion dollars has been paid to be people TO NOT WORK.

I understand the whole lifeline of unemployment insurance. I get it. But what that well intended "helping hand" has morphed into is beyond reasonable. Now, when the "99ners" unemployment runs out, they go on Social Security Disability.

8.8 Million Americans Receiving Disability Benefits

This makes me want to scream. We CANNOT keep doing this.

[Cheerio]

I hear he gave marching order to Reid to vote on something. ARE THESE PEOPLE SUCH MORONS TO IGNORE THAT PART ABOUT ALL TAX BILLS ORIGINATING IN THE HOUSE?

I am looking for Obama to issue an EO raising taxes on the "rich" after Congress fails. Think I am joking??? The White Hut clown has already proved to America what he thinks of the Constitution and coequal branches of the Fed Gov. IT's COMING and clown Zero doesn't care that it would clearly be illegal - what will the GOP do about it?? HE knows that he now owns Chief Justice in the SCOTUS. There will be a lot of huffing and puffing and by the GOP then it dies in the public eyes after they are all happy that their clown did what he promised and was reelected by them to do - raise taxes on the wealthy (really is just a part of his wealth redistribution scheme). What happened to the crimes of Fast & Furious and Benghazi - did the GOP "successfully" go after clown, and what effect did it have on the Nov election?

We are sooooo screwed I cannot even imagine what is coming in the next 48 months. And don't suggest there will be a revolution - never ever gonna happen with today's culture - never. AND NEVER is a fairly strong word.

[Lancey Howard]

Hey, why doesn’t congress extend unemployment welfare to encourage people to remain unemployed?
Now there’s a brilliant idea for reducing the deficit.

[2ndDivisionVet]

This is like an arsonist calling the fire department “Hey! Where are you guys?”

[The Wizard]

blow it out your butt

[ctdonath2]

His intended action? “JUMP!”

[The Cajun]

This is like an arsonist calling the fire department “Hey! Where are you guys?”

Great and fitting analogy.

[upchuck]

No extension of unemployment benefits. This is Santa Claus stuff.

If you haven’t been able to find a job in two years then you obviously don’t want or need a job. No more taxpayer funded welfare for you.

[VRWC For Truth]

No budget has been passed in four years. Resign Soetoro, ya lazy POS.

[Sequoyah101]

Whatever you imagine.... I think it will be much worse. Much, much worse. Not only are things bad the perception that they are bad and getting worse is with us.

I think we are well and truly screwed. Don’t know about y’all but I’m back home for Christmas and I see nothing but people just slogging through the day. Uncertainty my FRiends makes for worse times than really being bad. It is bigger than that though. It is bad, not getting better AND there is uncertainty.

Uncertainty is what the SOB in the white hut wants. Add to his desire all the crazed plans of his commie and liberal loon friends and we are well and truly in the crapper. We aren’t coming out for years and years and years if we come out then. When we do come out we are going to be far far behind our global competition. it will take a Marshall plan like effort to dig us out and there is nobody who is going to do that for us.

[xrmusn]

I seem to remember the same lecture EVERY year when I was a teenager.

Did you finish that project yet?
No, but I have all summer to do it.

Come School opening eve guess who is working on that project.
And in those days no computer etc to do your research.

These foolz have been in power 4 years (God, it seems like I have had to listen to this idiot BO bloviate for at least 20 years and it has only been 4) and have yet to pass a Budget - other than an across the board sweep UPWARDS, hired more people without authorization (other than I am pResident and have an open account for staff (CZARS)) and come no where near getting any real work done.
Now, we have a ‘countdown clock on the idiot box’ warning us of dire straits we will be in and YET heard no LOUD demands for a yearly tally.

And this bunch of fools not only got voted back in but the ‘other guys’ got even ‘stronger’.

Scary

[roadcat]

Some work is getting done. Obama cut his vacation short to do some work in Washington. He issued an executive order for raising the pay of federal workers, including congress and VP Biden. Hey, they have to offset those higher taxes they’ll pay! (uh what about the rest of us...)

[Happy Rain]

“We will not, never, no way ever ever vote for tax increases on ANYBODY!!! So eat poop and drop dead Boehner!”

-The US House TEA Party caucus.