America now hours away from Fiscal cliff (official)

RobitTV

The US is now hours away from the "fiscal cliff" which could plunge America back into recession unless a deal is found.

Economists warn the $600b in fiscal pain due to hit in the New Year could send the country back into recession, and destabilise the global economy in the process.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/business/obama-pleads-for-fiscal-cliff-deal-218147.html

If I'm honest I'm not optimistic anymore that a deal can be struck but it's quite ridiculous that they have took so long to sort it out in the first place!

I predict this could have significant consequences for international markets and economies and slow growth even further.

Please lord just make a deal! :pac:

GRMA

I'm sure they will, don't worry.

Stheno

This is like groundhog day, they'd the same earlier this year or late last year.

They'll make a deal.

hmmm

A cliff is over dramatic - it's more like a long slope. If they don't make a deal until January, it's not the end of the world.

MrMister

The media hype about the so-called fiscal cliff is just another bipartisan excuse to increase the gap between the wealthy and ever increasing number of poor people in the US. Notice both parties are advocating large cuts to the social safety net programmes when people are already struggling with poverty, while any possible cuts to defence is condemned. No one in Washington actually cares about balancing the budget. If they did, they would love this so-called Fiscal Cliff. It raises taxes and cuts spending, so it would massively reduce the deficit. Isn't that what all of Washington has been pretending to care about all of this time?

If all they do is let the Bush tax cuts expire for people making over $250,000, they would generate $1 trillion. Instead, they are going to move the spending cuts away from defence and on to the middle class and poor by hacking away at Medicare and Medicaid. This is defined as courageous in Washington. What would be courageous is taking on the rich and the powerful and the large political donors, which is the exact opposite of what's going to happen.

Obama has already promised corporate tax cuts (from 35 percent to 28 percent). Why is he doing tax cuts if he is trying to reduce the deficit? The administration says not to worry because they will close some loopholes and make it revenue neutral. I thought the whole point was not to make it revenue neutral. I thought they were trying to raise revenue. Obama is nothing but an establishment hack who has no intention of hurting the rich. Change you can believe in....

theUbiq

Who cares? My four year old nephew would do a better job at running that fascist hole than their democratically (sic) elected government! They're just warmongers with no real interest in anything other than domination both philosophically and economically, even though their brand of democracy is actually a plutocracy and capitalism is failing\has failed... Maybe if we ignore them, they might go away?

KyussBishop

MrMister wrote: »

The media hype about the so-called fiscal cliff is just another bipartisan excuse to increase the gap between the wealthy and ever increasing number of poor people in the US. Notice both parties are advocating large cuts to the social safety net programmes when people are already struggling with poverty, while any possible cuts to defence is condemned. No one in Washington actually cares about balancing the budget. If they did, they would love this so-called Fiscal Cliff. It raises taxes and cuts spending, so it would massively reduce the deficit. Isn't that what all of Washington has been pretending to care about all of this time?

If all they do is let the Bush tax cuts expire for people making over $250,000, they would generate $1 trillion. Instead, they are going to move the spending cuts away from defence and on to the middle class and poor by hacking away at Medicare and Medicaid. This is defined as courageous in Washington. What would be courageous is taking on the rich and the powerful and the large political donors, which is the exact opposite of what's going to happen.

Obama has already promised corporate tax cuts (from 35 percent to 28 percent). Why is he doing tax cuts if he is trying to reduce the deficit? The administration says not to worry because they will close some loopholes and make it revenue neutral. I thought the whole point was not to make it revenue neutral. I thought they were trying to raise revenue. Obama is nothing but an establishment hack who has no intention of hurting the rich. Change you can believe in....

Exactly; the US has been climbing its way out of the economic crisis through deficit spending all this time, and is about to take the utterly insane move of jumping into a renewed recession, duplicating exactly events during the Great Depression, where during recovery, reducing deficit spending put the US right back into recession.

Anything short of repealing the 2011 bill requiring the cuts, is going to end up putting the US into recession again; there is no economic reason whatsoever for these cuts, it is purely a manufactured political issue.

keith16

theUbiq wrote: »

Who cares? My four year old nephew would do a better job at running that fascist hole than their democratically (sic) elected government! They're just warmongers with no real interest in anything other than domination both philosophically and economically, even though their brand of democracy is actually a plutocracy and capitalism is failing\has failed... Maybe if we ignore them, they might go away?

I don't think '(sic)' means what you think it means.

Anyway, don't you think you are being a little bit OTT here? Why would we want to ignore them? American corporations provide thousands of jobs in Ireland and they are an important trading partner.

RobitTV

Fiscal cliff deal 'is taking shape'

The shape of a deal to avert the US "fiscal cliff" is emerging with just hours to go before a midnight deadline, Washington sources have said.

http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/world-news/fiscal-cliff-deal-is-taking-shape-3339535.html

hmmm

No vote until tomorrow and the world keeps on turning - once again the media have reduced something to soundbites which bears no resemblance to reality.

RobitTV

Fiscal cliff deal has been reached

Racing against the clock, the White House reached agreement with congressional Republicans late Monday on a deal to prevent across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts to government programs from taking effect at midnight, according to administration and Senate Democratic officials.

These officials said a New Year’s Eve vote in the Senate to ratify the deal was possible later in the evening, barring opposition from majority Democrats.

http://swampland.time.com/2012/12/31/democratic-aide-fiscal-cliff-deal-reached/

Debator

theUbiq wrote: »

Who cares? My four year old nephew would do a better job at running that fascist hole than their democratically (sic) elected government! They're just warmongers with no real interest in anything other than domination both philosophically and economically, even though their brand of democracy is actually a plutocracy and capitalism is failing\has failed... Maybe if we ignore them, they might go away?

Bigoted hyperbole that, if said about any other nation, would get the poster banned. Highly insulting blatant anti-Americanism in a country (Ireland) that Americans think of dearly.

Could you explain the following:
(a) How is the USA a "fascist hole"? Pretty sure President Obama was elected by the people in a fair and transparent election. He is known for being left-leaning with his plans to introduce universal healthcare and gay marriage. He is also notably an ethnic minority leader in a majority white nation. Hardly traditional fascism.

(b) "They're just warmongers with no real interest in anything other than domination both philosophically and economically". ???

KyussBishop

What isn't widely reported with this, is that the payroll tax holiday for middle income earners expires now (it was not extended as it has been for years), so the fiscal cliff 'deal' does actually, by omission, extend taxes on middle/lower income by 2%.