At the end of the year, tax increases for most people and massive
government spending cuts will automatically take place if Congress and the
President do not act to take a different course. Some economists say this could
lead to a new economic recession. President Obama wants to increase taxes on
the wealthy, but does not offer any other plans to decrease spending that the
Republicans want. During his first four years in offices, the Republicans
rejected all of Obama’s ideas on stimulus spending, which he thought were compromises,
but the republicans did not. Obama is waiting for the Republicans to agree with
an increase tax on the wealthy, and for them to make proposals on spending
cuts. Obama thinks that he has an election mandate to make the Republican’s
responsible for making choices that will affect America’s future.
President Obama’s campaign-style
debate worries me. If neither he nor the Republicans make a move, American will
be in a very bad situation. I think both sides will wait until the end of
December to make a decision, which will be scary, because citizens will not
know the fate of our country’s financial problem.
Yay, first comment for once.
ReplyDeleteJoyous celebrations aside, I would really like for the Republicans to come to to the bargaining table for once. So far as I know, they never have, but would like to make people think that they have. While I disagree with Republicans on many things, I can't help but actually get angry at them over this. They aren't even trying to negotiate! They're practically holding the government hostage so they can get what they want and so that they can make Obama look bad. At least, that's what it looks like to me.
As necessary as it is, it seems very unlikely to me that in only a few weeks the two sides will be able to compromise on a plan that has been underway for quite some time. Both sides seem stuck in their positions and unwilling to budge.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Katie. The two parties have been spending so much time with the same problems of not outstretching a hand to understand the other party's plan nor making significant alterations to their plan for a more compatible compromise. I fear that because time is dwindling down, the fiscal crisis (such a big problem with our country) will have a rushed plan that will be faulty.
DeleteI imagine that the Republican strategists will do exactly what the article suggests: they will hold out until they get what they want, and only then will they agree to a tax increase in the top two tax brackets. If this happens, then the the president and Republicans of Congress are not likely to come to any form of an agreement until just before the decision is made.
DeleteI think Fratto's comment at the end of the article reflects what the Republicans should do. The reality is that raising the tax rates on that top 2% that make over $250K is not going to close the deficits. Conversely, neither will restricting this group's deductions. In order to avoid going over the cliff, the OBJECTIVE reality is that spending cuts must be made somewhere, and the ball is in the Obama Court, so to speak, to come down and say what he is willing to cut, rather than unreasonably asking for more stimulus spending as he did in this first proposed budgetary "compromise". I realize that based on where you stand on the political spectrum, you will have different ideas on how steep and where the cuts should be, but numbers don't lie, and the numbers say that current spending rates are untenable, even with raising taxes on this tiny segment of the population.
ReplyDeleteI find it troubling that our country does not have a plan this close to the fiscal cliff. The government has known about this for a while, and despite the election, fixing the economy should have been a priority. Clearly two weeks is not enough time to get a significant amount of anything done related to the issue! It's time for government to work together to come up with a solution.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said. Fixing the economy should have been a priority but other things were taken and put higher up than that. The government needs to work together to come up with something or nothing will get done any time soon.
DeleteOur government really needs to kick it into high gear and get going on our economic issues. This is a significant issue and our politicians seem to be slacking. It is scary that our country is so unsure of where it will be economically in the near future.
ReplyDeleteHmm.. maybe Republicans not budging means that the Democrats aren't willing to compromise to include anything more conservative? Either way, both sides of the party need to give and take from their own policies and realize that their political beliefs alone won't fix anything.
ReplyDeleteCompromise is a two way street both sides have to come together to get this done and realize that it is in the best interest of the country to get this deal done and politics aside the country will do better from nearly any deal made wether it is liberal or conservative.
ReplyDeleteNow what if Obama took the initiative and was the first to compromise with government spending. I mean if he makes the reach across the center and appeals to that aspect of the Republican plan a compromise can be made on higher taxation on the super wealthy. Most people can agree that the government has grow very large and the amount of spending it has done is a little bit too great.
ReplyDeleteBoth sides are pointing fingers, saying the opposite side isn't compromising enough or making any real effort. Obviously they both need to step up, but I doubt they will do so and reach an agreement any time soon. All of this non-action isn't doing the country any good, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteThese two sides definitely need to come up with a solution fast. With a threat of another recession so soon after our last one, we can't afford to be doing pointless bickering in the government. Someone needs to take the initiative to come up with a decent compromise that both sides will agree on. It's important for our country to get this done now.
ReplyDeleteOur financial problem must be fixed and a compromise is definitely what America needs, but I don't think the Republicans will go against their debate platform which consists mainly of not raising taxes on the wealthy. The unemployment rate has been slowly but surely decreasing over Obama's first term but it must drop a lot more to get this nation back on its feet.
ReplyDeleteAs Sean said, the financial plan must be fixed. If taxes will be used in a beneficial manner, then they should be enforced. Although my opinion is rather biased, I would say that many people think that the economy is a prominent topic of discussion and whatever has to be done to fix it, should be enforced.
ReplyDelete