Hello Jake,

It is not a tax rate hike. It is letting the Bush era tax cuts, agreed upon by both parties, expire as (re)scheduled . And even then affecting only 1-2% of taxpayers. And let's not forget President Obama has agreed to let the rate cuts continue for everyone else. He has shown he is willing to compromise. Is the other side? It doesn't look so. They are letting partisan warfare trump the good of the country.

Comparing the change in tax revenue to the national deficit is just PR. It is the same game played by Paul Ryan and others in Congress last year when they threatened to force the U.S. to default on its debts unless federal spending was slashed. Quid pro quo. That would have been a fiscal calamity. Default on our debts? That would have had worldwide impact. .

Reasonable people can disagree on fiscal policy, I think this is going over the line. This fiscal cliff debate is irresponsible representation epitomized

OK, I'm out. I've said what I meant to say..


>Mike, the drama playing out regarding the "fiscal cliff" is a political game.
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>Note : I'm using the numbers provided by the public debate. For this we'll forgo the fact that CBO estimates are never accurate especially in regards to tax revenue. ;)
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>The best estimate I've seen for revenue generation from the tax rate hike on $250k & above is apx $800 billion over a decade. Our deficit this year alone is over $1Trillion. The tax rate hike is negligible yet is the only thing Obama and Reid are willing to consider as presented by Geitner, entitlements are off the table. So, what's really going on?
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>Democrats see an opening to damage the Republican brand. The Republicans are the low tax party. It's been their one consistent winning issue in the past 90 or so years. If they give in, they become Bush 41 to their own base.
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>The Democrats believe, as was a main thrust behind sequestration in the first place, that they have the Republicans triangulated. Raise taxes on the top 2% or the largest tax increase in history goes in effect accross the board and defense gets slashed. They're not incorrect. They are not incorrect. The Republican leadership is scared to death that they'll be blamed by the general public if they do nothing and be blamed by their base if they give in. They're not incorrect either. If the general public blames Reps, they'll have trouble in the next elections. If the base blames them they have no chance.
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>That's the game that's being played. We are merely pawns being given a show. If I were Boehner, I'd pass a permanent extension of the current rates and at the same time pass Simpson Bowles type entitlement reform. Pass a serious $4+Trillion package of real reform and hand the ball off to Reid. One big press conference to announce it and then talk about abosolutely nothing else for the rest of the month. Let the public know that the ONLY plan available is being held up by the Dems.
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>Of course, that would require Boehner to show some serious backbone and leadership and let's face it, he doesn't have it in him.
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>Truth be told, I'm expecting to go "over the cliff" and have planned accordingly. This nation is going to have to pay the piper sooner or later. We should've stepped up in 2009, let things crash and let the market sort itself out. Instead we tried that age old insanity of delaying the pain by attempting to spend ourselves out of debt. The problems are bigger now, thus the pain will be as well. If we kick the can again, the coming correction will be even more painful.
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>I've got my barrel, let's go for a ride! ;)
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>>In addition to being a lock on the list of the most memorable new phrases of 2012, the so-called fiscal cliff has to be on the short list of the most misrepresented issues. Taken straight off today's news wire, here is John Boehner saying with a straight face that it is a tax hike on the rich.
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>>http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/05/politics/fiscal-cliff/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
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>>He is correct that they will be paying more taxes than they are now. What he leaves out is that the tax rate for all Americans was reduced during the Bush administration (with bipartisan support) for a limited time. That time period has been extended at least once and is now scheduled to expire at the end of the year. President Obama has agreed to extend the tax rate cut for all but the richest 1-2% of Americans, those with reported earnings over $250,000 a year. Yes, you read that right. Almost all of us will be paying less taxes than than we would if the temporary tax cut expires as scheduled. The Republicans are going to the wall for the top 1-2%. Think about that.
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>>Obama said repeatedly during the campaign that he did not want to extend the tax cut for the wealthiest. This was said and debated many, many times. His position could not have been more clear. He won the election. Now the House Republicans want to have their way anyway. Is there something wrong with this picture?