"Fiscal Cliff" Was the Name of My Band in High School

Nicely played, Reid.

I heard someone on Bloomberg make the point that the economic projections about the fiscal hill's effect on the economy assume that nothing changes all year. I didn't recognize him, and I've forgotten his name, but he didn't strike me as a partisan, just an economic analyst trying to cool down the news frenzy.

Why a fiscal cliff failure could help the economy.

Mostly, you have to look at long-term gains over short-term pain.

That's weird. I name my stool 'Fiscal Cliff'. Mostly by the way I pinch it off.

Well, they're arguing that it would do a lot to help fix the deficit issue. But the problem is, if it did (and they're none too sanguine about that part sticking), it would be via cuts to many of the wrong things and increases in taxes on everyone, not just people who can arguably afford it.

And the deficit, while something that does need to be addressed, is not something that needs to be solved right this second in a way that's ultimately damaging to a lot of other things. So, y'know, it might help in some respects, but let's hope they find another path.

Where's the ♥ button on these boards again?

THIS proves to me that the GOP fully intends to tank the economy rather than actually work with the president. They won't even vote on Boehner's shitty Plan B:

Great Read on that and the general mess the Republican Party is devolving into

favorite passage

So one of the headlines on CNN right now is "Pressure builds on Boehner". I have never made fun of that man's name before but goddamn. Goddamn.

So, it looks like income taxes go back up for incomes above $450K, the estate tax exemption goes to $5M indexed to inflation, AMT gets fixed, and the payroll tax holday expires. I don't know about what they have tentatively agreed to in terms of spending cuts, but the Senate voted on a deal at about 2 a.m.

Stories and opinions everywhere

It looks like this won't end until the debt ceiling debacle strikes again.

Assuming the House falls in line, of course. Which... christ, who the hell knows?

Yes, but my congressman's office says it passed 89-8, so there will be a lot of pressure for the House to pass it. I'm hoping they do.

In a private meeting with Republicans, Boehner suggests they try to avoid looking crazy

The "Clean" Senate bill just passed the House.

I'm honestly a little shocked they folded so easily.

Oh, I see. They folded so easily because they are shitstains of utterly shocking breadth, volume, and odiferousness. Who knew.

Apparently, going over the cliff was an entirely political eventuality. You see, Republicans (at lest the minimum number needed among them - that aren't completely bat shit crazy) can now say they didn't vote for a tax increase, and can actually claim they voted for tax cuts. It's all about appearances. And bullshit. A lot of bullshit.

And the fracturing of the GOP continues; this decision pissed off quite a few republican representatives who didn't mince words.

Coming from that pile of shit embarrassment to the Republican party, that says something.

Well it looks like taxes are going up for everyone. With the payroll tax holiday ending taxes are going up on 77% of Americans. Only 0.1% of Americans are getting a tax cut with this bill (they make over the payroll tax threshold but make less than the top tax rate ceiling). This means that slightly over half of the additional revenue from 2013 will come from the bottom 80% of Americans who also make about 50% of the income too.

Well, holiday does mean "temporary"

They should have been made permanent. More importantly however, was that federal income taxes went up for everyone and could potentially be a huge hit since for people making $50,000 or more a year their taxes just went up $1,000. So congratulations on increasing the already regressive tax.