Are you confident the U.S. government can avoid the fiscal cliff?

I would prefer to go over the cliff. It would be nice to see the moocher class who voted for Obama faced with a tax bill so they too can become wagon pullers. Yes, lefties, more income earners exposed to the federal income tax to actally reduce the Obama deficit.

I have no issues with higher federal income taxes but the impact to the federal deficit by raising taxes on the “wealthy” would be quite small and motivated more by envy than math. It’s a spending problem first.

The “fiscal cliff” will be side-stepped by creative accounting and by raising the debt ceiling (by which we are just lowering the floor of the abyss). The Fed will print more money and all will be well until it isn’t. Greece is the word.

Yes.

Capping itemized deductions as Romney suggested.

Gradually raising the Social Security retirement age

Means testing both SS and Medicare.

Done.

Yes.

Another problem is how to ensure in advance that rewriting the tax code and entitlements produces the promised deficit reduction. Despite their high-minded rhetoric, neither Democrats nor Republicans relish the political blow-back that comes with cutting entitlements and tax breaks. It might be different if they had a mandate from voters to do it. Sadly, neither Mr Obama nor Mr Romney thought to ask for one.

I have no confidence that we can avoid the “fiscal cliff” and am fine with that.

We will not be able to solve a problem that has been 30 years in the making in 1 month, and thus my lack of confidence.

Any solution to the debt problem is going to include BIG spending cuts and BIG tax increases which is what this legislation imposes. It may not be perfect, but it’s better than nothing.

Let it happen and fine tune it over the next couple of years.

Just a comment to one of the other writers. As long as we all understand that “moocher class” includes all defense contractors, the DOD, the CIA, the State Department, all health clinics that accept Medicare, as well as the “normal suspects.” I am okay with you continued use of the term.

James:

If you pay no federal income taxes and receive federal benefits you are a moocher. Sorry, SS does not count as technically this is a pension system that provides both old age and disabled pensions based somewhat on their contributions through their earned income.

We have become a nation of takers so I am quiite happy to see both low and middle income taxpayers impacted by higher taxes.

Corporations simply pass their tax obligtions onto consumers so if you raise their taxes prices will rise.

As far as CIA and military, sure, lets return to Jimmy Carter era when Iran kicked our ass.

Yes. What we’re seeing and hearing is all show and bluster. They have a deal in the works and something will get passed.

GaryF. “Our fiscal problems will not be solved by punishing the rich. It’s time everybody paid more taxes. Happy to pay, right?”

There is a presumption many ill-informed conservatives hold that liberals think the entire debt problem can be solved by taxing a the top 1% ONLY. That is a categorical mistatement of the rationale for increasing taxes on the wealthy.

It is far more instructional to observe that over the perioid of time in which the conservative policies have “liberated” the wealthy from their former ( pre 1990’s) tax burdern – the country as a whole has declined – in average wage, average savings, average wealth, average retirement security.

The desire to tax the wealthy is a three-fold mechanism (1) the wealthy have the excess income to turn over in taxes – whilke still maintaining an extremely comfortable lifestyle. (2) the current protective tax-cocoon they live in actually discourages, for the last 20 years, investment in the creation of jobs and favors artisitic shell company investment schemes. (3) the REAL (MOST COMMON) AVEARAGE INCOME FAMILY OF FOUR ($40,000 – $96,000)/year doesn’t have any wiggle room – and YET our economy is more heavily dependent on that bulwark of the population to be consumers.

The wealthy 1% of the population cannot consume at the level of the 68% of the working MOST COMMON . Our economic future depends on moving more wealth into the hands of more people. If the MARKET is unwilling or unable to do it … for its own health … then the government is the only other alternative.

Right NOW the market is killing itself though bad “herd management”. the MOST COMMON need higher wages. We’ve hard-bottomed out on artificially low prices letting people think they were doing well. now prices are rising again. but wages are not and employment are not. the market is killing itself. correction through government is the only short term solution – because the market moves like a turtle, in the mud, in january in embarass mn.

The solution to the fiscal cliff has always been there and still remains…tax reform. Democrats want higher tax rates (to increase revenue) but Republicans do not want an increase in tax rates (but are open revenue increases). Republicans want to make cuts to government programs while Democrats are very reluctant to cut anything besides defense.

Here’s what needs to happen…Democrats need to come to the table with real cuts to most government programs. Republicans will then start to identify deductions that can be eliminated and the discussions will progress from there. Of course we need more revenue, we need cuts and we should be looking at the elimination of deductions/credits in order to lower tax rates. Let’s hope the Democrats can take the first step and bring cuts to government to the table.

Absolutely not_ the radicals are in charge. Obama is always with “plausible denial” as an excuse after excuse after excuse for taking no responsibility for anything gone wrong. In Mexico right this minute, are ads being aired on how to access the American Food stamps! Does he care about the fiscal cliff? No, he never has. Obama signed into law the very $4 trillion they now say_ they should curtail. Obama signed away more debt than all the other Presidents combined_ fact, look it up.

Obama appoints a CIA director that his own FBI under Eric Holder, knew was a rsik. The FBI under Obama also appointed a Marxist revolutionary ( Van Jones) and the FBI vetted him??? really? really?

Days after the election_ Obama signs the act to confiscate 1.6 million acres in Colorado to stop any mining or drilling for energy..wow, no energy policy and we should think he cares squat about the cliff HE is RESPONSIBLE for creating in the past 4 years. do the math. You all elected a celebrity with no, absolutely NO business or financial experience and he appoints other useless ones..so this is exactly what we get when idiots are allowed to vote without a clue, just voting based upon their far left ideology.

“Most people know when you can’t cut your budget anymore you need to increase your income.”

Most people know that Obama and the Democrats (and the Repubs, too) have never cut the Federal Budget even one red cent, much less anything that would do any good.

Therefore, to say they can’t cut it anymore is insane, as they have yet to cut it at all.

Additionally, when a family needs to increase its income, someone in the family must go to work. Or start a business. A family cannot increase its income by stealing money from the other families in the neighborhood. Which is how the FedGov increases its “income”.

Nice try. But you can’t peddle that brand of crazy here.

Har

Georges “Additionally, when a family needs to increase its income, someone in the family must go to work. Or start a business. A family cannot increase its income by stealing money from the other families in the neighborhood. Which is how the FedGov increases its “income”.”

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you have configured a wrong analogy. the family dynamic – simple and common-sensical as it is – is not complex enough to represent the behavior of government.

I also reject your and many other conservative characterizations of government as some external entitiy imposed on you. This government is derived only from us citizens.

As for your statement that a family doesn’t steal from its neighbors – America has the highest incarceration rate of any 1st-World Nation on the planet … clearly we do steal a LOT from each other.

Corporate “theft” is artfully delivered – but by and large “profit” is technically acceptable theft. Its not money needed by the company to cover costs.

If companies revised their use of profit to pay their employees ( not executives ) an average of 1/300th of the company CEO… the American economy would rocket at about a 12% growth rate.

We have the money …. its just in too few hands…..

No one can trust in a government that is led by a man, the leader that added 6,200 new regulations that will all cost business more and thus they cut back, lay off workers or close down. No one trusts a leader that appoints socialists and communist endorsed radicals and then pretends he didn’t know their background…Obama is smart_ as he knows that half of all voters are air heads, even teachers in MN show about 80% have no idea of what Obama Care steals from medicare or that is adds another 200 regulations, or that it will force your neighbors to pay (subsidize) part of your forced down your throat health care premium a year from now..or that the forced health care insurance is like going to a grocery store but it only sells ONE item.

Factis Obama signed us all into $trillion new debt and soem of that was wasted on green energy companies that went bankrupt..or when government can use tax dollars to favor or prop up failing companies or bailing out the big UNIONS as they did for GM. it is called __SOCIALISM.

Like it or not, the truth is evident. Liberals will scream when fuel goes up another 50% and electric rates double, just as Obama promised he would do if elected in 2008 but you all were sleeping and ignored his warnings. Obama will go down as the most corrupt president of our time or as the best Progressive that was heavily endorsed by the American Communist party.. Good lord, doesn’t anyone find that a clue when such a group that lives to kill our system of an American republic endorses our president???? wake up or accept and then suffer more. BTW Obama’s 4 yr. plan to improve FEMA..how’d that work out with 80,000 still out of power and worse for two weeks? .

Exit polling showed that 60% of those who voted would like tax rates for the wealthy to go back to the rate they were at during the Clinton administration. While that is only part of the solution, it MUST be at least part of it. Having said that, I’m sure they will end up kicking the can down the road again because Tea Party Republicans in the House will continue to obstruct the process and refuse to deal with reality. We need a balanced solution that includes tax increases for the wealthy.

“but by and large “profit” is technically acceptable theft. Its not money needed by the company to cover costs.”

So, in your mind, companies should aspire to merely cover their costs, break even only, and any profit is theft……..

The USSR tried that idea. So did Red China. It didn’t work out so well for either of them. The USSR is long gone, and China, where only a few years ago the companies were 100% owned by the State, has evolved to the point where 50% of the companies are now privately owned. For the profit of the private citizens that own them.

Pure Capitalism.

Taking over the world. Benefiting all of humanity. For profit.

Yes, we can………Capitalism……..the modern miracle………..the poor and minorities never had it so good……..thanks exclusively to Capitalism…..

Get rid of your dinosauric ideas. They just keep you in the dark.

Come out into the light of day. Tis good for the poetry of the soul.

Har

Happy pre-Thanksgiving Linda/Lawrence, back again with the same message. I hope your turkey is thawed. Lots of people will not have one. My first son is one of the moocher class as defined by Clark, with no business to run, no fully paying job to do, and little if any input to the national economy or tax base. Because of his developmental disability, he does not understand what a fiscal cliff is, nor how important it is to him, but I do, and I appreciate you all. I wish you could appreciate him.

I have full confidence that our President will do the right thing afterall, it was he who sent out Ambassador Rice 5 days after the Benghazi attack promoting the falsehood of a video causing the attack and said nothing about the deaths caused from Obama refusing to give the order to save our own people.Cowardice in charge.

Facts will show that the consulate did indeed harbor two jihadists for questioning and if that came out as why the consulate was attacked, it would have made our President look badly before the election. Politics ruled over lives. Sure, we allllll trust in Obama’s ability—well at least he was good in handing out flyers as a grassroots Progressive activist? Maybe he will appoint Rice to replace Hillary and give the GOP more fuel in 2014 senate races?

I believe the only way to avoid the “cliff” is to lock ALL the representatives (including the VP) and senators in the capital building with only baked beans to eat and water from the nearist polluted river until they get this figured out. And the only excuse for not being there is death – their own.

At least they – all of them – should get absolutely no pay or per diem or even a postage stamp starting back to July 1st of this year until this is resolved. And no back pay. Also NO press briefings or conferences or “leaks” in which they blame the other party.

If you think the political campaign ads were bad just wait to what’s coming about blaming each other.

Last I read, Obama won the election with 2.8% more popular vote then Romney. This is a mandate to confiscate income?? I realize Obama is obligated to begin kissing the ass of the union thugs and other left wing radicals but hope the Republicans don’t roll over and turn the U.S. into France.

David: You are correct. As IQ’s drop and the stupid become the majority I also see U.S. becoming a one party state. Hopefully I will be dead before your utopia become realty.