Obama's Taxes or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Fiscal Cliff. The now infamous phrase was coined by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in February, during his appearances before Congress on the state of the economy. The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) was the deal signed by President Obama in August 2011 to end the Congressional battle over raising the government debt ceiling. A compromise between Democrats and Republicans on economic policies while temporarily increasing the amount of money the government could borrow from itself to pay its bills. The crucial part of the Act provided for a Joint Select Committee of Congressional Democrats and Republicans, 'The Supercommittee' to produce legislation that would decrease the U.S. deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years. To do so, the committee agreed to implement by law â if no deal was reached before Dec. 31 â massive government spending cuts as well as tax increases. These are the elements that make up the 'fiscal cliff'. There will be an end to several tax breaks for businesses, and changes in the alternative minimum tax that could result in more people having to pay â the income range is currently between $45,000 and $200,000 â and higher tax payments for those who do. There will also be tax increases for higher income individuals to help pay for the Affordable Health Care Act. At the same time, spending cuts will take place in more than 1,000 government programs, including cuts in the defense budget as well as social programs like Medicare, through 2022. Some programs are exempt from the BCA. Those are Social Security, federal pensions and veterans' benefits. While higher taxes and spending cuts would reduce the U.S. budget deficit by an estimated $560 billion. Now Obama thinks re-election confers a blank check. His demand that spending cuts and entitlement reform be put off, while Republicans give him the tax hikes and the stimulus he wants. Again reneging on any compromised to cut spending in exchange for tax increases. The fear is reinforced with Obama's bid to have sole and permanent authority to raise the debt limit. As it stands now, Congressâ has the power to set the ceiling and serves as a practical check and balance. Based on spending from the past, regardless of party, I cannot imagine any greater disaster. The additional taxes by those families making more than $250,000 and individuals making more than $200,000 would be a relatively small sum, something like one week of federal spending next year. Obama believes income inequality is a huge problem facing the nation. By knocking down the income of the top 2 percent of earners by an estimated average of $36,000 per household, and then taking that money and spending it on government programs aimed at lower-income Americans, Obama believes it will help narrow the gap between the rich and the middle class. A continuation of Obama's communist agenda for the "Redistribution of Wealth". Obama's proposal to avert across-the-board income tax hikes, stunned Republicans with calls for spending most of the first yearâs worth of the tax hikes on yet another stimulus spending package. Obama is content to tell Republicans that it is his way or the highway on tax rates. It's not enough for people to pay more taxes, that they must pay at a higher rate and things will get ugly very fast. It appears that the only way that any spending cuts would actually be achieved by going off the "cliff" and going off the cliff sooner than later will be far less painful.
I'm getting the impression that the Republican Idea of closing tax loopholes and deductions is already in place by the Dems. That is there plan also along with an income tax hike. So both, closing loopholes and raising taxes are Dem plans. Although we don't hear anything about changing deductions.
Don't you just low how you and I are paying Obama's political donors for being dumb enough to vote form?