It is currently 03/29/24 12:48 am

All times are UTC - 6 hours




  Page 1 of 1   [ 15 posts ]
Author Message
 Offline
PostPosted: 12/27/12 11:00 am • # 1 
Administrator

Joined: 01/16/16
Posts: 30003
27 December 2012 Last updated at 11:40 ET

The US appears to be heading over the "fiscal cliff", with prospects dim for a deal to avoid tax rises and spending cuts, the US Senate leader says.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Democrat Harry Reid said there did not seem to be enough time to craft a deal before Monday night's end-of-year deadline.

Senators and President Barack Obama have returned to Washington, while the House of Representatives is in recess.

Analysts say heading over the "cliff" could tip the US into recession.

Bickering over the cliff has divided Washington in recent weeks, with President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner unable to reach a deal before Christmas.

The president wants to ensure that taxes do not rise for Americans earning under $400,000 (£250,000), and insists on raising new tax revenue in any deal.

'Dictatorship of the speaker'

But many Republicans oppose new taxes, and an alternative plan proposed by Mr Boehner - which would have seen taxes rise only on those earning over $1m - failed in the House late last week.

Republicans left Washington for Christmas and said responsibility for avoiding the cliff rested with the Democratic-led Senate.

But in the Senate chamber on Thursday Mr Reid said the requirement to get at least 60 of 100 votes to move to a vote on any legislation almost certainly doomed any new plan unless Republicans gave it strong backing.

"It looks like that's where we're headed," Mr Reid said of the fiscal cliff.

The Senate leader said the House of Representatives was "being operated with a dictatorship of the speaker", accusing Mr Boehner of holding up a vote on a Senate-passed bill to avoid the fiscal cliff.

"John Boehner seems to care more about keeping his speakership than about keeping the nation on sound financial footing," Mr Reid said. Mr Boehner faces an internal re-election contest among House Republicans on 3 January.

The term fiscal cliff refers to the combination of almost $600bn (£370bn) of tax rises and spending cuts due to come into force on 1 January if Congress does not pass new legislation.

Sweeping tax cuts passed during the presidency of George W Bush will expire, affecting people of all income levels.

'Extraordinary accounting'

In addition, spending cuts mandated by a law passed to break a previous fiscal impasse in Congress will come into force.

The cuts are expected to affect federal government departments and the defence sector, as well as hitting unemployment insurance and veterans' support.

On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned Congress the Treasury would have to enact a series of extraordinary accounting measures to free up about $200bn from the government's official borrowing figure.

Those measures would stop the government from hitting its $16.4tn "debt ceiling" - the legal limit set by Congress on how much the US government can borrow - for about another two months beyond 31 December.

But Mr Geithner warned that without them, the government would run out of cash on Monday and "the United States would otherwise default on its legal obligations".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20853624#


Top
  
 Offline
PostPosted: 12/27/12 12:12 pm • # 2 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 01/20/09
Posts: 8188
We're going over the cliff.


Top
  
 Offline
PostPosted: 12/27/12 12:47 pm • # 3 
Administrator

Joined: 01/16/16
Posts: 30003
Good.
That should just about toll the bell for the Republicans.


Top
  
PostPosted: 12/27/12 1:05 pm • # 4 
Every last one of them...Republicans and Democrats should hang their head in shame if they let this happen!


Top
  
 Offline
PostPosted: 12/27/12 2:53 pm • # 5 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 01/22/09
Posts: 9530
I wonder how many people realize that going over the fiscal cliff is probably, in the long run, the best thing that could happen to the U.S. Rectifying America's deficit problems will require both increases in revenue and cuts in spending. Little patchwork plans like taxing the rich or trimming a tiny bit out of social security won't cut it. The big push, such as what is involved in the "fiscal cliff" is necessary. It might bring on another mild recession but, over the long run, would probably be the best thing to happen. The trick will be to keep the politicians of both stripes from messing with it.


Top
  
 Offline
PostPosted: 12/27/12 3:01 pm • # 6 
Administrator

Joined: 01/16/16
Posts: 30003
Slash the war budget by 75%.
That ought to do it.


Top
  
 Offline
PostPosted: 12/27/12 3:17 pm • # 7 
User avatar
Administrator

Joined: 11/07/08
Posts: 42112
Dee, I'm curious why you see the Dems as responsible if we do, in fact, go over the cliff ~

I'm convinced if it happens, it will be reversed on 01/02/13 ~ and I join oskar as I see the GOP/TPers taking the biggest hit ~ the latest poll I heard was that something like 70% of the public see it as the fault of the GOP/TPers ~

Sooz


Top
  
 Offline
PostPosted: 12/27/12 9:01 pm • # 8 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 01/16/09
Posts: 14234
oskar576 wrote:
Slash the war budget by 75%.
That ought to do it.


indeed. i have been saying this for years.
it would not weaken us one bit to do it, either.


Top
  
 Offline
PostPosted: 12/28/12 6:38 am • # 9 
User avatar
Administrator

Joined: 04/05/09
Posts: 8047
Location: Tampa, Florida
Isn't that the sector who produces almost exclusively in the US? What about those jobs?


Top
  
PostPosted: 12/28/12 10:05 am • # 10 
The US going over the fiscal cliff could be a good thing for people in Canada who oppose the current government. If the US goes into recession, it bodes ill for the Canadian economy and the CONservative government won't be able to claim they are such master stewards of the economy.

Thanks Obama! ;)


Top
  
 Offline
PostPosted: 12/28/12 11:28 am • # 11 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 01/22/09
Posts: 9530
Sidartha wrote:
The US going over the fiscal cliff could be a good thing for people in Canada who oppose the current government. If the US goes into recession, it bodes ill for the Canadian economy and the CONservative government won't be able to claim they are such master stewards of the economy.

Thanks Obama! ;)


There's no point in even thinking about that Sid. There's still three plus years to go with the average voter's memory good for about three minutes. What happens this year isn't going to impact the next election at all.


Top
  
 Offline
PostPosted: 12/28/12 11:30 am • # 12 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 01/22/09
Posts: 9530
oskar576 wrote:
Slash the war budget by 75%.
That ought to do it.



Part of the fiscal cliff package does include some pretty deep cuts to the defense budget.


Top
  
 Offline
PostPosted: 12/28/12 11:39 am • # 13 
User avatar
Administrator

Joined: 11/07/08
Posts: 42112
jimwilliam wrote:
Sidartha wrote:
The US going over the fiscal cliff could be a good thing for people in Canada who oppose the current government. If the US goes into recession, it bodes ill for the Canadian economy and the CONservative government won't be able to claim they are such master stewards of the economy.

Thanks Obama! ;)

There's no point in even thinking about that Sid. There's still three plus years to go with the average voter's memory good for about three minutes. What happens this year isn't going to impact the next election at all.

jim, while I generally agree about the "average voter's memory", whether or not voters remember come election time is dependent on whether there is a single or multiple negative anomalies ~ if it's single, it's far more likely voters will indeed forget, adjust, move on with their lives ~ but when there are multiple negatives, voters [at least here and now] get very pissed off about being pissed on by the pols ~ those voters do/did remember ~ and, as we experienced on November 6th, those voters do/did vote ~

Sooz


Top
  
 Offline
PostPosted: 12/28/12 3:44 pm • # 14 
User avatar
Editorialist

Joined: 01/22/09
Posts: 9530
I know what you mean, Sooz. The problem we have up here right now is that it's sort of like selective "pissing off". Certain groups of people get upset with the government over one thing but that same thing makes another group happy. When the happy group gets choked, the unhappy are happy. To top things off, none of the opposition parties have enough stroke with the voters to outweigh the Conservatives. The two main opposition parties are simply shredding each other while Harper and his 33% stay constant. The sooner the NDP flashes up and disappears into the woodwork again, the better off we will be. They have zero chance of ever forming the government so, as long as they keep bleeding votes from the Liberals they are the Conservatives best friends. Pretty much all the polls show Harper would continue to have a majority if an election were held today.


Top
  
PostPosted: 12/29/12 9:23 am • # 15 
The pols have known this crisis was coming for months and months and for Reid to say there is not time to work out a deal while the pols have holiday time (some even in Hawaii!) with this business unresolved is pure Bullsh#t....

Personally, I think both sides are in agreement to let it happen, but neither wants to face the public ire and is hoping the other side will take most of the blame...the so called "trying to work out a deal" is nothing but a smoke-screen...if the poor people barely existing with unemployment do not get paid, neither should the pols.


Top
  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  

  Page 1 of 1   [ 15 posts ] New Topic Add Reply

All times are UTC - 6 hours



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron
© Voices or Choices.
All rights reserved.