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Amazingly the sky didn't fall, crops haven't failed and all law hasn't been replaced by the Thunderdome
At the stroke of midnight we officially went over the “fiscal cliff.” Amazingly the sky didn’t fall, crops haven’t failed and all law hasn’t been replaced by the Thunderdome.
The one positive thing I can say about this new possible deal is that I’m glad it only came after the “cliff deadline” had passed, helping to prove how idiotic all the fearmongering was.
The “fiscal cliff” was always just a collection of policy changes that would start around the first of the year. Together they would produce a drag on our weak economy only if they were allowed to remain in place for months. In addition, the Federal Reserve had the power to help mitigate some of the negative impact.
The potential damage of going over the cliff for a day or a week or even a month was minor. Especially given the fact that as long as people knew Congress would eventually make any tax changes retroactive, most people wouldn’t actually see a change their withholdings.
Now that we have gone over the cliff it is plain to see what a fake, manufactured crisis the whole thing was. We were given a big scary deadline so that the need to avoid this deadline could be used as an excuse for forcing very unpopular policies on the American people, like cutting Social Security.
At least by going over the deadline Congress helped show there was no “cliff” in the fiscal cliff.
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The Military Budget December 21 went up from 604 billion to 633 billion, even when the Cold War ended it went up. The last cut was after the Vietnam War.
A cancer is uncontrollable growth, the Cliff would cut 10% of the 604 Billion, not enough Chemotherapy to cure us of the cancer but maybe enough to wake us up
Barney Sanders voted yes on the New Years Day deal, Barney Frank is discussing Hagel non cliff, Ron Paul’s comments are on the long term,
Dennis Kucinich’s comments January 1,
http://libertycrier.com/government/dennis-kucinich-accuses-govt-leaders-of-creating-a-manufactured-crisis-to-screw-americans-again/
Read the following and hope for Chemo not on avoiding it, or if you disagree comment why ignoring the cancer is better,
http://readersupportednews.org/pm-section/99-99/15242-dennis-kucinich-and-peace-lame-ducks-have-the-power-to-change-the-us
http://my.firedoglake.com/richardkanepa/
So, it turns out to really be a
“fiscal bunny slope?” (not sure who to credit for that one)
As someone commented on Yahoo, why ISN’T foreign aid also being cut in the fiscal turd negotiations?
Here’s why.
i think most americans still believe in the “fiscal cliff” but that it was avoided by a last minute deal and will have to be dealt with later. too many americans think this wqs a bad deal because it didn’t cut enough. i think that’s what you’ll find. but i don’t think most people learned the leason Jon hopes they did
A few years ago deals like these were just called “continuing resolutions”.
Thanks Peterr at #4– I’d rather be an isolationist than let Waxman disregard the millions of vulnerable people in the US. And, by the way, wish he’d admit, it IS our money that he thinks needs to be siphoned away from US taxpayers and citizens. Get rid of the State Department–put it in with the Pentagon and their cooked books.
A few years ago, Congress actually passed budgets and appropriations bills for every department and agency.
I miss those days.
(The last time a separate agency bill was passed was October 2009.)
Wrong Waxman.
This is from Sharon Waxman, former staffer to Teddy Kennedy and former State Dept official earlier in Obama’s tenure, and now with the International Rescue Committee.
Not sure of any relationship between the two Waxmans. I know she’s not his wife, but may be his daughter.
It always was the Fiscal Bluff.
And, as to Jon’s last sentence, most of the people who bought into the scam will continue to believe. Reality is not enough to overcome most trance states.
It seems that the deal is dead. Cantor opposes it, and the GOP is likely to kill it with amendments and send it back to the Senate. Betcha those amendments just call for the Senate to choose more spending cuts without specifying where.
Also, the CBO score is that the deal raises the deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years as compared to the baseline. The baseline being the law as of midnight last night after going over the fiscal cliff.
So the fiscal cliff gives Obama his $4 trillion grand bargain–if he claims it.
Peterr –Yes, Waxman –author of the article you referenced in #4. Knew it was not any other Waxman.
You wrote “And, by the way, wish he’d admit, it IS our money that he thinks needs to be siphoned away from US taxpayers and citizens”
How do you get “he” from “Sharon”?
I don’t know what you’re claiming here, but if you’re comparing the FY12 and FY13 defense authorizations I think you’ll find that it went down from $662bn to $633bn.
yr/total/base/war/nuclear/total
FY12 $662 530 + 115 + 17 = 662.4
FY13 $633 527.5 + 88.5 + 17.4 = 633.4
Symmetry:
I’ll wait to see if I get reimbursed the old rates, or if the 27% reduction is in effect. I reckon it is. shit. and I’m not a physician, but my reimbursements are tied to theirs.
whocoodanode?
Foreign aid is all but nothing in the context of the entire federal budget; not that it couldn’t take some trimming (e.g.,Israel), but defense, especially the zillion overseas bases, sure offers a big target with little downside.
As far as Yahoo goes … I’d suggest not going there at all. That site is the collection point for the biggest yahoos and crazies on earth.