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Post by boxcar on Nov 29, 2012 16:33:42 GMT -5
It is about what I expected. Each side will now come out saying they won. What was not mentioned is that Obama will want another trillion to play with for next year.We can't take his candy away from him, can we?
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Post by boxcar on Nov 29, 2012 17:19:57 GMT -5
By Katie Pavlich:
How do you feel about the government touching your private retirement account known as your 401k in order to "pay down the deficit?" Not so good? Already feel like the government has stolen your retirement through Social Security? Well get ready because taxing the 401k is floating around as an idea while the fiscal cliff talks on Capitol Hill continue.
One of the earliest fears about tax-favored savings accounts like IRAs and 401(k) plans was that when this pool of savings grew large enough Congress would not be able to resist tapping it to help solve the nation’s debt problems. We’re about to find out if those fears—persistent for decades—have been justified.
Everything including the sacred mortgage deduction is on the table as lawmakers wrestle with the fiscal cliff, a year-end avalanche of scheduled spending cuts and tax increases. With a combined $10 trillion sitting in IRAs and 401(k) plans, retirement accounts make a juicy target. Some of this money has never been taxed, and under current law never will be
(Since they can't raid SS any more, this seems like the logical thing for the politicians to attempt)
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Post by boxcar on Nov 30, 2012 14:10:52 GMT -5
President Barack Obama’s budget proposal is so bad that it’s funny, says Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. He said he “burst into laughter” Thursday when Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner presented him the plan to avoid the fiscal cliff, according to The Weekly Standard. McConnell said he didn’t mean to embarrass Geithner. He was merely giving his honest reaction to a plan that’s heavy on tax increases and light on spending cuts.
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Post by boxcar on Nov 30, 2012 16:56:57 GMT -5
(Reuters) - The Obama administration's opening bid on Thursday in negotiations to avert a year-end fiscal crunch included a demand for new stimulus spending and authority to unilaterally raise the U.S. borrowing ceiling, a Republican congressional aide said.
The proposal, made by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to congressional Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, was seen as offering little the Republicans could agree to and was greeted with laughter, the aide said.
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Post by jerryfmcompushaft on Dec 1, 2012 9:37:00 GMT -5
Yo Denny... When, where and by whom does the compromise start
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Post by boxcar on Dec 1, 2012 15:39:40 GMT -5
Charles Krauthammer on Thursday called an offer to fix the fiscal cliff from the White House, presented to House Republicans by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, “not just a bad deal, this is really an insulting deal.”
“What Geithner offered, what you showed on the screen, Robert E. Lee was offered easier terms at Appomattox, and he lost the Civil War,” Krauthammer said on Fox News on Thursday. “There are not only no cuts in this, there's an increase in spending with a new stimulus. I mean, this is almost unheard of. What do they expect? They obviously expect the Republicans will cave on everything. I think the Republicans ought to simply walk away.”
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2012 15:43:21 GMT -5
Yo Denny... When, where and by whom does the compromise start That's a damn good question. Unfortunately it appears that "face" or pride is keeping things from starting. If I were Obama and had the bully pulpit as he does, I'd get the ball rolling. I suspect both sides have had substantive talks but they've come up against a brick wall and neither will budge - for now. Personally, although it would hurt, I'd rather see no settlement and watch all of us go over the cliff. I don't think that will happen though.
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Post by boxcar on Dec 1, 2012 18:39:15 GMT -5
>>. I suspect both sides have had substantive talks but they've come up against a brick wall and neither will budge <<
Last August the House put together a budget package and sent it to the Senate where it arrived Dead-on-Arrival. So much for compromise. So much for substantive talks.
>>Personally, although it would hurt, I'd rather see no settlement and watch all of us go over the cliff.<<
I tend to agree. At least that way we could see some budget cuts. The first thing Obama would do is to threaten to withhold Social Security checks. (pick on grandma)
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Post by boxcar on Dec 6, 2012 13:26:59 GMT -5
Guy Benson:
I've been critical of Republican tactics and messaging this week, so let's give credit where it's due: Moments ago, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took to the floor and offered an immediate vote on President Obama's fiscal cliff plan, which shocked the Beltway late last week. (In case you're keeping score at home, this was the surreal proposal that induced McConnell to laugh out loud as it was outlined by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner). Harry Reid quickly objected and shut the whole thing down, labeling the suggestion a "stunt." Think about that. The President of the United States, a Democrat, crafted a fiscal cliff package that would give him everything he wants. It has tax hikes on the rich. It has huge tax hikes on investments and estates. It has more stimulus spending. It has no meaningful, specific, or guaranteed spending cuts. And it compels Congress to cede control of the debt ceiling to him. This is "fairness" on steroids. The Senate's top Republican proposed an up-or-down vote on everything the president wants, yet Democrats, who control the upper chamber, instantly blocked it. By what definition is it a "stunt" to hold a vote on the president's full, public plan? The White House has insisted it's a serious document, yet Hill Democrats don't want it to see the light of day.
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Post by jerryfmcompushaft on Dec 6, 2012 14:13:34 GMT -5
And we are actually paying these guys?!?!
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Post by boxcar on Dec 7, 2012 11:51:13 GMT -5
There seems to be much trouble within the Republican ranks:
Two Republicans who were kicked off key congressional committees because of their voting patterns against leadership positions, say a revolt may be growing within the GOP House conference among conservatives upset with Speaker John Boehner
I think there's a lot of unrest right now," Michigan Rep. Justin Amash told Fox News' Sean Hannity Thursday night.
"The speaker may have miscalculated here, thinking it is just going to be a few of us concerned about it. But it's clear he made a threat to the rest of the conference," he continued, referring to a Republican meeting on Wednesday in which he said Boehner threatened to remove other GOP members from panels if they do not fall in line on budget negotiations and other issues.
Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp, who was kicked off the Agriculture Committee, agreed with Amash that many conservatives within the GOP ranks "are outraged" at the idea that members could be punished for voting against leadership positions.
"The vote is sacred. I mean we don't turn that over to anybody in Washington," he told Hannity, adding that he had voted against a number of leadership budgets because they didn't cut spending enough.
All this bickering should revive the Tea Party.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2012 14:05:26 GMT -5
Don't you guys know that once politicians have the power a government becomes their kingdom and the citizens are their subjects.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2012 14:41:14 GMT -5
That doesn't apply to just governments. It applies to almost everything.
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Post by boxcar on Dec 7, 2012 21:41:08 GMT -5
D. Patten
With fewer than 25 days remaining before the fiscal cliff becomes a reality, House Speaker John Boehner is facing rising criticism from those on the right who feel the House GOP leader conceded too much upfront when he proposed $800 billion in new tax revenues, thereby damaging Republican chances of linking any tax hike to long-term cuts in entitlement spending.
Boehner reported “no progress” on a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff Friday, after another day passed without the administration even bothering to make a counteroffer to the Speaker’s initial proposal. Administration strategists appear willing to let Boehner and his House caucus sweat, based on their view that the president’s re-election victory, and the imminent expiration at year’s end of the Bush-era tax cuts for all income brackets, give them the upper hand.
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Post by boxcar on Dec 9, 2012 15:18:31 GMT -5
There’s a new bit of creative thinking making the rounds in DC this weekend. According to this line of thought, assuming no deal is reached to prevent tax rates from going up on the middle class, Timothy Geithner has certain, hidden superpowers which will save the day. If the tax rates go up, people won’t need to worry about it because we just won’t withhold the extra money from their paychecks.
(And this genius is the Secretary of the Treasury?) (to be replaced by John Kerry?….God help us.)
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