Fiscal Cliff May Be Inevitable

[puckstopshere]

Listening to CNN today, it seems that the fiscal cliff is inevitable.

The Republicans are living up to their promise to work with the President.  Unfortunately, their idea of working with the President seems to be our way or the highway.

They want to have tax increases balanced with strategic spending cuts.  Well, maybe not so much tax increases as a removal or reduction in certain tax deductions.  They want spending cuts.  But, they want to cut medicare and social security.  Those are two of the key platform items that got Romney elected - NOT!

Obama has proposed a plan that gives a balance of tax increases and spending cuts.  Now the Republicans want to see exactly where these increases and cuts will take place - each and every one - before they start talking with the President. 

The Republicans are ignoring the fact that a significant proportion of the people (72%) believe that tax increases are necessary to avoid the fiscal cliff.  They continue to play politics with the future of the U.S. - and the rest of us as well. 

When questioned by CNN anchors, the Republicans refuse to answer any questions.  They just spout the same message over and over. 

Hey guys, you lost.  Get over it and do something right for a change. 

[puckstopshere]

CBO: Fiscal cliff deal adds $4 trillion to deficits

The fiscal cliff deal approved by Congress will increase deficits over the next decade by close to $4 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

That estimate is relative to a benchmark where all the Bush tax cuts expire and the the fiscal cliff stays in place. Technically, that's what would happen if Congress had done nothing to avert the cliff.

But that was never a likely scenario. For one thing, most economists said that such abrupt fiscal tightening would hurt economic growth in the near term.                                         

     Plus, few expect Congress to stick to such a strict fiscal regimen anyway.                                         

     Instead, most expected Congress to largely preserve the Bush tax cuts and cancel or weaken the rest of the fiscal cliff.

Compared to that more realistic scenario, the fiscal cliff bill will actually reduce deficits somewhat -- various estimates suggest by roughly $600 billion, and more with interest savings. The CBO did not offer a cost estimate for the Senate bill relative to this more realistic scenario.

The legislation, approved by the House late Tuesday, will avert much of the fiscal cliff's negative near-term economic impact by extending the Bush tax cuts for the majority of Americans, protecting the middle class from having to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax and retaining a number of tax breaks for businesses and individuals.

The bill also extends long-term unemployment benefits that were set to expire and avert a scheduled pay cut to Medicare doctors, among other spending provisions.

As a result, the CBO estimates that the bill will reduce revenues over 10 years by $3.64 trillion and increase spending by $332 billion.                                                 

http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/01/news/economy/fiscal-cliff-deal-cbo/index.html

[puckstopshere]

3 more fiscal cliffs loom

http://money.cnn.com/2012/12/31/news/economy/more-fiscal-cliffs/index.html?iid=EL

[valve37]

Anthropomorphic Nouns

We are all familiar with:

A Herd of cows

A Flock of chickens

A School of fish

And a Gaggle of geese

However, less widely known is:

A Pride of lions

A Murder of crows as well as their cousins the rooks and ravens

An Exaltation of doves and, presumably because they look so wise, a Parliament of owls

Now consider a group of Baboons.

Baboons are the loudest, most dangerous, most obnoxious, most viciously aggressive and least

intelligent of all primates.

And what is the proper collective noun for a group of baboons?

Believe it or not... A Congress!

(Note: I hadn't heard that before, so I looked it up. It is correct)

That pretty much explains the things that come out of Washington ! You just can't make this stuff up.

[pierrelebel]

"Get ready to short!"

?????

Once one reaches retirement age and lives from pension and investment income, I find it difficult to believe that gambling and speculating on the short term direction of the stock market is suitable.

On the contrary.  Now is the time to rely on relatively secure investments, paying a steady return with tax advantages.

Investment in Canadian banks, most large insurance companies, utilities (such as BCE), mature resource companies and preferred shares in large industrial companies - all paying tax-advantaged dividends ranging from 4% to 6% (some higher yield stocks could be included if you are willing to take some risks) would be more suitable that "shorting the market".

If you want excitement in your life, buy a 6/49 ticket. 😉

[valve37]

"Get ready to short!"

?????

Once one reaches retirement age and lives from pension and investment income, I find it difficult to believe that gambling and speculating on the short term direction of the stock market is suitable.

On the contrary.  Now is the time to rely on relatively secure investments, paying a steady return with tax advantages.

Investment in Canadian banks, most large insurance companies, utilities (such as BCE), mature resource companies and preferred shares in large industrial companies - all paying tax-advantaged dividends ranging from 4% to 6% (some higher yield stocks could be included if you are willing to take some risks) would be more suitable that "shorting the market".

If you want excitement in your life, buy a 6/49 ticket. 😉

Short, certainly not in my RRIF Pierre, but my trading account is a different animal to be played with!