The Fiscal Cliff

[Franco]

Honestly...I think the tax cuts need to expire for everyone and the spending get cut across the board. Then it is not up to congress anymore. I think the economy can afford it, but people will get hurt but our runaway budget gets addressed.

Now if I thought folks would agree....I think the lower income houses should keep their tax breaks and the higher income bear the burden while defense should take a major cut to keep from touching entitlements like social security and medicare.

Social Security is not an entitlement. Medicare and Medicaid are and if they are not addressed soon, we could very well be worse off than Greece. Tax increases on those earning above $250,000 is just campaign rhetoric and won't solve a thing. It was Obama's way of appealing to the lowest common denominator, his class warfare. Spending on Medicare and Medicaid is out of control! I have no problem with cutting the Military Budget and leaving Defense alone. But until we are willing to address both Medis, the problem will only get worse.

[LokiMeister]

Here is another good article: http://www.fool.com/investing/genera...cal-cliff.aspx

[Marvin S]

Social Security is not an entitlement. Medicare and Medicaid are and if they are not addressed soon, we could very well be worse off than Greece. Tax increases on those earning above $250,000 is just campaign rhetoric and won't solve a thing. It was Obama's way of appealing to the lowest common denominator, his class warfare. Spending on Medicare and Medicaid is out of control! I have no problem with cutting the Military Budget and leaving Defense alone. But until we are willing to address both Medis, the problem will only get worse.

Franco - maybe you can explain your reasons for believing this . I paid 2.9% of the maximum into Medicare prior to retirement & now pay close to $100 per month as a premium with &150 deductible, also pay for a drug plan & have never came near the donut hole. Do you know something I as a recipient don't? Should I be getting free stuff, if so tell me where .

[Franco]

Franco - maybe you can explain your reasons for believing this . I paid 2.9% of the maximum into Medicare prior to retirement & now pay close to $100 per month as a premium with &150 deductible, also pay for a drug plan & have never came near the donut hole. Do you know something I as a recipient don't? Should I be getting free stuff, if so tell me where .

One of the biggest reasons Medicare is going broke is the fact that too many providers have a license to steal from it. From doctors to medical equipement providers, many have thier hands in the till. Medicare is setup more to provide quantity of care rather than quality of care, hence the waste and abuse. Add in the fraud and the fact that the government manages it and you have a recipe for going broke.

[Gun_Dog2002]

We are already over the Fiscal Cliff and bankrupt. What can we do about it? How about we start supporting candidates that advocate a Balance Budget Amendment and downsizing government instead of where they stand on social issues. Leaders that are willing to end the Federal Reserve and return monetary policy to the Congress and not international banking. In doing so though, we have to be careful in electing politicians that really believe in this and not just mouthing the words because they sound good.

Didn't we just vote for that?

/Paul

[Franco]

Didn't we just vote for that?

/Paul

Vote for what, Santa Claus?

[Lesa Cozens Dauphin]

I have been paying into Social Security and Medicare since I went to work at 16. They aren't entitlements to me...it is MY money.

lesa c

[mngundog]

I have been paying into Social Security and Medicare since I went to work at 16. They aren't entitlements to me...it is MY money.

lesa c

The program allows people that have been citizens for only 5 years into the program.

[Uncle Bill]

The regime is only after breaking the Republicans apart. Obama has no intentions of balancing anything. He's totally hell-bent on punishing his rivals, with his demands for higher rates on the wealthy. If you fools believe his "rate war" will resolve the deficite problems, then you are bigger fools than your 'prince' is. You can bet he KNOWS his tax increases will do nothing but make the Republicans bow to him, and give him his REAL victory.

The difference between what each party has proffered as a form of "getting together", and working across the isle, is a real yawner... I think it works out to be 18% cuts by the Republicans, and 12% by the Obamaites. The fact of the matter is, while we here the word "cuts" bantied about, by now everyone must realize these are NOT "bugetary cuts" like you would do to your personal budget to get your spending down...these are just 'cuts' in the previously proposed budget increases. So even an across the board 'cut' of 10% would mean that particular item would receive the same amount it did last fiscal year.

The other word that is meant to fool the sheeple is revenues, as opposed to taxes, which is what they are. Or 'investing' as opposed to spending. And the socialists applaud our broken school and education system...which just keeps the sheeple dumbed down so they can be easily controlled by their leadership. This oligarchy has them right where they want them, and their immigration system just adds to their proletariat numbers for any upcoming election.

The analogy I've used in the past, when the debt ceiling was being argued over, is just as viable today as then... If you were gone from your home for a couple weeks, and return to find your sewer has backed up, and sewage is running out your windows, so rather than draining the sewage and clearing the plugged sewer, the Democrats want to pump more sewage into that home, so their plan is for you to go to uncle jake and aunt betty and borrow several thousand dollars so you can raise the roof.


Obama has stated he will not allow any discussion about the debt ceiling, when that comes around again. If the Republicans do ANYTHING but pass a bill to extend the FULL Bush tax cuts, they will be bowing to this ineptocracy the fools of the nation have put in place, so they can get their free ice cream. Anyone that believes Obama would accept all the money to keep the country from going over the 'cliff' without increases in the top tax rates, should pull their heads out from the spot where the sun doesn't shine.


I have called my Congresslady and Senator...(I know, even in Sodak we have two, but I won't call that brain-dead-hanger-on-so-his-pension-gets-bigger fool supporter.) and have received confirmation as to their votes to NOT vote for anything that raises tax rates. What Boener has proffered is as far as the Republicans are planning to go. If that causes us to go over the cliff, sobeit. Based on what is happening to this point, it won't be much of a drop.

UB

[menmon]

As for as the government is concerned SS and medicare are entitlements. You are entitled to them because you paid into them...your entitled if you didn't pay into them.

Entitlements is not just free stuff.

But the point being...I don't want old people paying to get us out of this mess.

If not letting the Bush tax cuts expire for the higher brackets does not matter....why are they fighting it so hard.

No it does not get us out of the soup but it helps as will the cuts to defense and other departments...just leave the old and the poor alone is my position