The Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell gave Pres. Obama what he wanted on Dec. 31, 2012: More tax increases.
"The president wanted tax increases, but thanks to this imperfect agreement, 99 percent of my constituents won't be hit by those hikes," McConnell said.
So who will be hit with the new tax hikes if the House approves the bill rushed through one side of Congress on the final day of the year? The wealthiest Americans of course since Pres. Obama had been campaigning to raise their taxes for more than a year now.
And just who are those wealthy Americans? Originally they were people who made more than $250,000 a year. But Republicans have pointed out to the president that a small business owner can easily make that much money and yet they are far from being wealthy. And their costs for employee health care proves that, right?
Therefore, Pres. Obama agreed to the Republican demand that the "wealthy" bar be raised when it came to increased taxes. But that made some Democrats like Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa angry enough not to vote for the bill; but it passed in the Senate anyway, and with bipartisan support.
The new bill now has to clear the House if it is to become law, but it is clear that the House will not vote immediately on it when they return to work at noon on New Year's Day, as Republican leaders are insisting that this bill must not be a behind-the-door legislative effort. Thank God.
To prevent the American people from getting stuck with something they don't want, the GOP has said that there will be no acceptance or amendment of the proposed bill until they, as well as the American People, "have been able to review the legislation," Fox News reported.
And that's just how Americans want it, as who wants more bills that aren't understood--or that sneak in provisions or costs not clearly stated in press conferences? Not taxpayers, that's for sure.
(Mitch McConnell photo credit: The New York Times)
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Comments: 42
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/01/politics/fiscal-cliff/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
I do not know a lot of "small business owners" who bring that much $ home.
And if I sound like I'm angry and bitter with the administration, yeap I am. And I'm sure there are 1000 little gems in this bill that no one bothered to read, because they have to pass it, that we will find out later how it will screw the rest of the country.
Politicians look out for exactly one person
THEMSELF!
Screw the rest of the people they represent because we don't make enough money.......and if that isn't bad enough if you don't think like they do, they just outright ignore you.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/01/politics/fiscal-cliff/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
I predict that it will pass the House, though the Tea Party will shriek. BTW Mooch, do you make 400K per year? No? then What are you worried about....:)
The economy.
"We have so many people who can't see a fat man standing beside a thin one without coming to the conclusion that the fat man got that way by taking advantage of the thin one!" - Ronald Reagan
The trickle-up poverty policies of the "progressives" work. They bring equal poverty to everyone but those in government leadership.
Yes, that is exactly my point. If businesses are over taxed they can not expand and most likely will lay off workers. So when less people are employed they purchase less adding a double whammy on businesses. And when people don't work they depend on government welfare which in turns makes some want to increase taxes even more.
This means that they don't have CAPITAL to expand...can't borrow it and, therefore, will stagnate, or worse...go out of business. This will cost them and their employees jobs...
When they and their employees don't have jobs, they can't spend money...
And, so on...and so on...
BTW...any of you that said "if you don't make $450,000 a year why would you worry" have not only demonstrated exactly what fiscal conservatives have said about you but also clearly shows us all your complete inability to understand basic economics...
Jo Jo distains stupidity in all forms...
Unless of course the House makes that go away. But tinkering with the Senate version would be a ticklish business. If they tinker too much and it causes the bill to fail, the House gets blamed.
The Republicans won't stop until Social Security, Unemployment payments and all forms of welfare are ended. They have already allowed millions of jobs to be sent overseas and they have destroyed the Middle Class. The new Middle Class, according to the Republicans. makes $400,000 a year. People with that kind of income should be paying their share, but Republicans disagree.
Isn't it interesting that under the George Bush and the Republicans there was no talk of fiscal gloom. The Medicare Drug bill they passed agreed to pay drug companies, already overcompensated by tax dollars, top dollar and cost over 700 billion. Was the intent of that bill to destroy Medicare? Would it make more sense to pay the lowest price available?
God bless America this year and protect the middle and lower classes from the greed of the wealthy who seem to control congress and both parties.
Of course the Republicans are going to stomp and snort--that's all they've done for the last (approx.) two years.
I've got links open to several news outlets (not all of them liberal mouthpieces) and haven't seen anything definitive yet about when this will go to a vote.
I'm betting that if it DOES go to a vote before Thursday (when the next Congress is sworn in), it will be in the middle of the night--when it can be accomplished with minimum broadcast until after the fact. Depends on whether Boehner, Cantor and Ryan tear each other apart behind the scenes first.
I am okay with some more spending cuts, but it should be recalled that the house Republicans had an opportunity to propose those cuts. they failed to get a majority.
What will we do with surplus workers. People want good paying, satisfying jobs. I know what a rotten job can do for the psych. I worked my way through college working in factories and in food service. But those jobs are not there anymore, so we can't wish them on the poor. Some of them don't provide a living wage anyway.
I am of retirement age and I am a college instructor. I would love to collect the Social Security that I have been paying into since I was a teenager. But Social Security is threatened. Republicans want to privatize it. Because of threats to Social Security, I cannot give up my job, so a younger professor can take it.
I don't know how to resolve the social issues we face, but I know we must invest in people. The rich cannot be so greedy that they refuse to help the poor. We need to invest in infrastructure and education - both will create jobs - And we must provide, food and health care for all of our people. It is the right thing to do.
Greed used to be considered one of the seven deadly sins. Now it seems to be a Republican virtue. Just paint the poor as lazy and undeserving and you think you can ignore them while they suffer and die.
Oh wait that may be too many questions for you. Don't burst a blood vessel.
Your attack was ad hominem, strawman and it argued off the point. I could site other problems with your logic, but why bother?
You mention that your offices were near bus lines. So your employees could not afford cars.
Or Math...
Or Logic...
This is a big win for the American people.
Your sense of fairness is demonstrated by saying that Republicans are "obstructionist" when they object and "caving" when they agree...
And...you have no idea how bad this deal is for this country...