'Fiscal Cliff' Statement From President Obama

[cal04]

Source: NPR

Leaders from both parties in the Senate came together to reach an agreement that passed with overwhelming bipartisan support today that protects 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small business owners from a middle class tax hike. While neither Democrats nor Republicans got everything they wanted, this agreement is the right thing to do for our country and the House should pass it without delay.

This agreement will also grow the economy and shrink our deficits in a balanced way – by investing in our middle class, and by asking the wealthy to pay a little more.

What's more, today's agreement builds on previous efforts to reduce our deficits. Last year, I worked with Democrats and Republicans to cut spending by more than $1 trillion. Tonight’s agreement does even more by asking millionaires and billionaires to begin to pay their fair share for the first time in twenty years. As promised, that increase will be immediate, and it will be permanent.

There’s more work to do to reduce our deficits, and I’m willing to do it. But tonight’s agreement ensures that, going forward, we will continue to reduce the deficit through a combination of new spending cuts and new revenues from the wealthiest Americans. And as we address our ongoing fiscal challenges, I will continue to fight every day on behalf of the middle class and all those fighting to get into the middle class to forge an economy that grows from the middle out, not from the top down.

Read more: http://www.npr.org/2013/01/01/168389678/fiscal-cliff-statement-from-president-obama

[cloudythescribbler]

1. Is there somewhere one can link to the agreement itself or a very detailed summary of it?

[grahamhgreen]

2. Wouldn't that be nice....! Please!

[steve2470]

3. H.R.8 -- American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (Engrossed Amendment Senate - EAS)

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c112:4:./temp/~c112RZ84Gm::

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Caver in Chief

More of the same disappointment for Democrats and working Americans.

He may fight for us, or say he is, but it's all hot air.

Since Democrats will support the President, it will pass the House
if 50 GOP support it. Any hopes to scuttle it rest with the Tea Party.

The $400,000 and $450,000 is most disappointing, but so is keeping the
estate threshold at $5,000,000.

I still think the Fiscal Cliff would have been better for the country long term,
if with the short term impact on family budgets and a lot of anger. Politicians
are good at ducking voter anger.

IMO, this legislation does not tax the wealthy enough, the $250,000 to $450,000,
nor the estates of wealthy enough, at $5 milllion and below. Plus they have all those
tax shelters for their kids in REITs and Roths, and Trusts of businesses, vintage
automobiles, DRIPs, etc etc.

Wish they would simplify the tax code to make it fairer and simpler, and I don't
mean a flat or flatter tax. I mean eliminating all the complexity, rules, deductions,
depreciations. It is so complicated it's an accountants dream, another occupation
that exploits the workers and produces not a dime of humanly sustainable enjoyable
output.

[panzerfaust]

7. You might want to read: "Five Facts About America's Pathological Wealth Distribution"

Published recently at Common Dreams and written by Paul Buchheil.

A simple listing of his points:

We are close to being the most unequal country in the world in wealth distribution

Shockingly, wealth accumulation has been rigged for the rich.

As tax rates have gone down, income for the rich has gone up.

We should all cheer for the stock market" is a scam.

Debt has masked wealth inequality for 30 years

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. "Debt has masked wealth inequality for 30 years "

That is a point that very few people seem to get.
We really do not have a lot of education about money and finance in any pre-college school system, so most people do not get a chance to understand how we are being robbed on so many fronts.

[earcandle]

15. Hold on I am coming with my education! See my paper below sent to Obama and a few others

http://www.earcandleproductions.com/Debra_Nicholson_Bassham_21_Century_Paradox.pdf

[Cha]

16. That's a bunch of BULLONEY.. You can bring in VP Biden and Senator Bernie

Sanders in on the favorite stupid word, too.

[Owl]

19. +1

[lib2DaBone]

5. He will cut Social Security and Medicare..

I'm looking for his speech last night on the Fiscal Cliff where he stated that, "he will cut Social Security if there are matching cuts in other areas."

Its a weasel-wording...... he didnt say he WOULDNT cut SS... he said he would consider it if it was equal to other cuts.

Get ready...

[panzerfaust]

6. "...would put off budget cuts for two months ..." A GRAND Accomplishment.

Where politicians have long been criticized for not being able to see beyond the next election, politician's horizons have now shortened to where they consider two months as a significant time into the future.

Plenty of time to, as Obama says, "... grow the economy and shrink our deficits in a balanced way ..."

These people, our elected representatives in government, are drunk with money and with power. They are delusional and are completely out of touch with, what the Bush administration, called the 'Reality-Based Community' and what the rest of us just call the 'Real World' as found outside of the beltway reality distortion field.

Truly, I do believe that the next 10-20 years will see the complete breakdown of our country as a functioning society. Much as seems likely to be happening in the North of England in the next couple of years as the rich get richer, the middle class poorer, and the poor become destitute.

People who can see no further than two months into the future should not be those entrusted with the governance of our nation.

[Demo_Chris]

8. This statement could as easily been authored by Bush

Allow me to cut out the nonessential words...

deficits
deficits.
cut spending
deficits
deficit
spending cuts

Fun fun. Note as well that we no longer have poor people. We have "those struggling to get into the middle class." They are pre-middle class.

[forestpath]

12. +1

[Sunlei]

9. Thanks for posting this and here is a link to Presidents statements 12/312012 noonish

This is where President Obama spoke live about the last min. deal that happened a couple hours later. I think the President did an excellent job. Good as could be expected with the disfunctional members of our Gov. he has to work with.

http://www.nytimes.com/video/2012/12/31/us/politics/100000001981428/president-obama-on-the-fiscal-talks.html#100000001981428

[mountain grammy]

10. Whenever the question "where are all the moderate Republicans?" is asked

I always answer, "they are the Democrats!" If President Obama won't stand with the real progressive Dems, he's setting us up for another GWB in 2016, and more of the same in Congress. It will be impossible to undo the worst crap W gave us if Republicans keep moving to the right wing cliff and Democrats keep chasing them.

[dmosh42]

11. When do we start cutting the defense budget??

[Owl]

18. Good question... not a single mention of it....

[FreeBC]

14. Seemes like a decent deal to me so far

* No cuts to Social Security or Medicare
* Extended unemployment benefits

concessions to republicans:
* raised the "bush tax break" threshold to 450k

Going over the cliff would have hurt the economy and made it tough for democrats in 2014. I am glad they averted it.

[Cha]

17. Thanks cal04.. this Deal that VP Biden brokered with mitch that Bernie Sanders VOTED

for is looking pretty good. Seems it won't pass the House, though. We're gonna see soon.