Embrace the Fiscal Cliff?

Boo Radley said:

NO, not really. It is true, that the short term effort rerquired more spending. This isn't new or anything that was done by presidents before him in the past. I remember years ago when we talked on these forms about hsi short term plan and long term plan. He need both and at one time articulated both.

Click to expand...

As I said, no amount of fairy dust at all in that plan.

And on the whole, small businesses are a protected group, even under Obama. So, we should tone down the exaggerations.

Click to expand...

So what you are saying is millions of small businesses won't be facing tax increases under his plan?

Henrin said:

As I said, no amount of fairy dust at all in that plan.

Click to expand...

I think you're trying to side step discussion here.

So what you are saying is millions of small businesses won't be facing tax increases under his plan?

Click to expand...

This report notes that the definition of small-business owners that Republicans have often used in the past is “overly broad,” which puts it mildly. That definition counts as a small-business owner anyone who reported any “flow-through” business income on his or her personal tax return. So it takes in owners of large firms as well as small, and also people whose business income is negligible and who earn their living primarily from other means.

For example, a partner in a Wall Street hedge fund would be classified as a “small”-business owner even if he or she raked in $100 million from trading securities. And a corporate executive making $1 million in salary and bonuses would be counted as a “small-business owner” if he or she also received a few dollars from the incidental rental of a ski condo or beach house.

FactCheck.org : Boehner’s Big Stretch on Small Business

Barack Obama said he's cut taxes for 'middle-class families, small businesses'



Obama has raised some taxes during his presidency, but he’s also pursued broad-based tax cuts for the middle class and small businesses. We particularly give weight here to the tax cuts that were part of the stimulus and the payroll tax holiday, which reduced taxes for broad swaths of the workforce. Some small businesses may have been hit by new taxes that were part of Obama’s health law, but these would depend on the particular circumstances of each business. Also, there were new taxes on cigarettes and indoor tanning.

PolitiFact | Barack Obama said he's cut taxes for 'middle-class families, small businesses'

I prefer to try and be factually accurate. Republicans spreading the huge taxes on small business are largely using a questionable definition of small. Fact check address that. And mostly, they've gotten cuts. Politifact addresses that.

friday said:

The Fiscal Cliff happens on January 1, 2013. It is when the policies of the Bush administration expire and the policies of the Obama administration become more fully implemented. It is also when the Obama sequestration compromise goes into effect. It is a balanced approach of tax hikes and spending cuts.

So shouldn't we embrace it? Didn't we embrace it on November 6th? End of Bush era policies, implementation of Obama era policies, tax hikes and spending cuts, especially on the military. Isn't that exactly what Obama ran on? So why are we afraid of it?

It could be because nearly every reputable economist is predicting that it would cause another recession and shoot unemployment back up over 9%. So is that what "Forward" really gets us?

The Fiscal Cliff is Obama's policy in action. Shouldn't we embrace it?

Click to expand...

It appears to be what the American people voted for. They are sovereign.

Boo Radley said:

The idea was not for that to take place, and if it does, it won't be anyone's idea of what was desired. not Obama's or republican's. The idea was to try and encourage them to actually do something. If we fall off the cliff, congress failed.

Click to expand...

Thank you and I agree.

friday said:

And yet, here we are. The compromise was "let's shoot ourselves in the foot, and if we don't heal by January, 2013 we'll shoot ourselves in the head too." And blame Congress all you want, Obama signed it.

Click to expand...

Bills don't suddenly appear. CONGRESS PASSES THEM and then they are signed or vetoed. everybody is guilty;.

I say tax the rich at 80%-85%. They overwhelmingly voted for Pres Obama, so screw 'em. Let them reap what they sow. I hope our gov't taxes them into oblivion. Sorry Turtle Dude.

From what I gather, if it's not fixed it will cost my family about $6,000 between tax rate increase, reduction in child tax credit, increase in SS tax, and there was one other thing that I am forgetting. Either way, I'm not happy about essentially losing $6,000.

WI Crippler said:

From what I gather, if it's not fixed it will cost my family about $6,000 between tax rate increase, reduction in child tax credit, increase in SS tax, and there was one other thing that I am forgetting. Either way, I'm not happy about essentially losing $6,000.

Click to expand...

I look at it slightly differently, in that what makes me unhappy is the spending that necessitated "losing" $6,000.

I won't enjoy it either, but at least if it is allowed to happen it will confirm my long-held opinion that the burden of profligate spending always falls to the average taxpayers eventually.