The "Fiscal Cliff" Is a Hoax ... and a Mel Brooks Routine

[Flopper]

They're dashing through the corridors of power in Washington with appropriately grim expressions this week. Congressional leaders are talking about the upcoming 'fiscal cliff,' which journalists are dutifully describing as a "looming crisis."

In fact, if you do a Google News search for articles containing the words "fiscal cliff" and "looming" you'll get 72,000 hits (as of Wednesday evening). We know because we tried it.

72,000 hits.

But nothing's "looming." Nothing. There's just some language in a law Congress passed last year. If they don't want it to happen they can un-pass that law. It's a simple as that.

And do you want to know something? They don't want it to happen.

Nobody Move

This phony crisis is a lot like this scene in Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles, where Cleavon Little as The Sheriff pretends to take himself hostage to escape an angry crowd. You may remember the gag line, which included a word we won't use: "Nobody move or the $^((*&^(* gets it."

Brooks crafts his throwaway lines pretty carefully, too. Look for the earnest man who says "I think he means it," or the woman in the crowd who says "Won't somebody help that poor man?"

Here's how the "fiscal cliff" scam's being played: Congressional Republicans are holding the guns to their own heads. Democrats are the town leaders, dutifully laying their weapons down.

And the American media are the gullible townsfolk, carefully writing in their notebooks about the "looming" threat to their sheriff.

Richard (RJ) Eskow: The "Fiscal Cliff" Is a Hoax ... and a Mel Brooks Routine

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

The "Fiscal Cliff" Is a Hoax

Indeed.

And it’s true Congress wants to go ‘over’ the ‘cliff,’ particularly the TPM, who will be let off the tax hike hook.

 

[blackhawk]

If no deal is reached everyone will see the results in just over a week then we will know if it was a hoax or not no more opinion, speculation, or guessing.

 

[waltky]

Obama comin' back, ready to take names an' kick butt...

Obama to Return to Washington Wednesday as Fiscal Cliff Looms
December 25, 2012 - U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to return to Washington late Wednesday to resume consultations with Republican House Speaker John Boehner and other congressional leaders on a scaled back deficit reduction package before the year ends.

Early last week, the president said he and Boehner were relatively close to an agreement on a compromise to avert what is being called a "fiscal cliff" - $500 billion in mandated spending cuts and tax increases that would affect almost all American workers starting January 1. But by the end of last week, those efforts were in disarray as lawmakers fled Washington for their Christmas holiday break.

Obama and his family also left town for the Pacific state of Hawaii for what would normally be an extended vacation. But this year, Obama will return early for the fiscal talks.

The holiday recess began shortly after House Republicans abandoned an attempt to pass a Boehner compromise proposal that would have raised taxes for millionaires while keeping tax cuts for everyone else. Obama wants the tax break extended only up to the $400,000 level.

Obama to Return to Washington Wednesday as Fiscal Cliff Looms

 

[Flopper]

If no deal is reached everyone will see the results in just over a week then we will know if it was a hoax or not no more opinion, speculation, or guessing.

Not everyone. Payroll taxes will go up, however for many the real bite will not come till they file their 2013 taxes. I have no doubt that sometime in 2013, Congress will do something. It will surely be some tax increases and some spending cuts.

If congress makes no headway in the first few month of 2013, Wall Street and business will react in anticipation of a recession which will put pressure on congress to approve a new round of tax cuts, and spending increase pushing the deficit even higher than expected.

The smart thing to do is for congress to move and move quickly but when has congress ever done the smart thing? No wonder Americans have had a higher opinion of Gaddafi than Congress.

 

[Truthmatters]

in a couple of weeks the congress will contain more dems and fewer Rs.

then maybe we can get things done again.

 

[waltky]

Call it Washington’s version of "Mission Impossible"...

US Could Step Off 'Fiscal Cliff' in Days
December 26, 2012 WASHINGTON — Less than a week remains before a still-recovering U.S. economy confronts a draconian austerity regime of automatic, across-the-board tax increases and deep cuts to federal spending. Hopes of averting the so-called “fiscal cliff” by January 1 are dimming with each passing day.

​​The challenge? A politically-divided and chronically-gridlocked Congress has just days to forge a deficit reduction package acceptable to legislators of both parties and President Barack Obama. The package would have to pass both houses of Congress and be signed into law by midnight New Year’s Eve, or the United States will, indeed, step off the fiscal cliff. In other words, Washington must accomplish in a few days what years of intensive negotiations have failed to produce: a blueprint for stabilizing America’s runaway national debt, which stands at $16 trillion and is projected to top $20 trillion in a few years. “I do not want us to go over the cliff. I want to find a solution," said Republican Senator John Barrasso on Fox News Sunday.

His words were echoed by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar on ABC’s This Week program. “It is time to get back to the [negotiating] table,” she said. For more than a month, negotiations were led by President Obama, a Democrat, and Republican House Speaker John Boehner. Now, Boehner has all but removed himself from the talks. After failing to narrow differences with Obama, Boehner last week sought to pass legislation on his own that would save all but millionaires from a federal tax increase. But ultra-conservative Republicans refused to back the measure, and Boehner canceled the vote and adjourned the House until further notice. Boehner said the burden of forging a deal now falls to President Obama and Senate leaders.

The Senate convenes Thursday and presumably will stand ready to vote on any deal that may materialize. Some Senate Republicans, like Lindsey Graham, say they would be willing to vote for higher taxes on top earners, as Democrats demand. “I would vote for revenues, including tax rate hikes, even though I do not like them, to save the country from becoming [like] Greece,” he said. Graham spoke on NBC’s Meet the Press program. Meanwhile, some Democratic Senators, like Amy Klobuchar, advocate a large-scale deal that addresses taxes as well as federal spending, including reforms to costly programs that provide health care and other benefits to retirees. “I would love to see a bigger deal. I would like nothing more, and there are always miracles," she said. "It is Christmas.”

Before heading to Hawaii for a Christmas vacation, President Obama suggested a scaled-back package of tax relief for America’s middle class may be the only remaining viable option ahead of the fiscal cliff. “There is absolutely no reason, none, not to protect these Americans from a tax hike,” he said. Some political analysts believe lawmakers will find the political will to compromise only after January 1, when they will face the wrath of constituents angry over higher taxes and lower take-home pay combined with reduced government services brought on by federal spending cuts. In the meantime, financial markets could be thrown into turmoil, consumers may limit spending, and businesses may scale back operations in anticipation of austerity measures, putting the nation’s fragile economic recovery at risk.

Source

 

[Flopper]

Tea Party members in the House have vowed to stand firm and not give in to demands of Democrats. This has evoked a similar although less organized response from Democrats. Negotiations that would lead to anything other than window dressing and passing the buck have become impossible at this time.

I think congress will eventually settle the issue, but only after there is sufficient pressure of a new recession. The most likely outcome would be legislation that will remove the deadline for spending cuts, increase taxes a bit, and make a few spending cuts. However, if congress remains deadlocked, then the country will surely move into another recession, bringing on massive new spending and tax incentives that will result in even greater deficits than we now face.

 

[Staidhup]

Negotiation is not defined by one party capitulating to the wishes and desires of another by fiat. One party will need to cut real spending and the other to increase taxes across the board and adopt means testing. The bottom line, during this extensive period of economic contraction expect a decrease in the standard of living.
Holiday spending is the lowest since 2008, GDP growth is anemic at best, unemployment remains high, so what new recession are you speaking of, I can't recall ever recovering from the last one.

 

[jwoodie]

Let's see: We need a deal RIGHT NOW to increase taxes and cut spending, because if we don't...

...we will have automatic tax increases and spending cuts. Horror of horrors!

 

[beretta304]

let's see: We need a deal right now to increase taxes and cut spending, because if we don't...

...we will have automatic tax increases and spending cuts. Horror of horrors!

B-i-n-g-o​

The GOP is getting blamed no matter what...take oBUMa down with the ship as well. He's not going to be able to brush it all off no matter what the lamestream media propagates.

 

[Flopper]

Negotiation is not defined by one party capitulating to the wishes and desires of another by fiat. One party will need to cut real spending and the other to increase taxes across the board and adopt means testing. The bottom line, during this extensive period of economic contraction expect a decrease in the standard of living.
Holiday spending is the lowest since 2008, GDP growth is anemic at best, unemployment remains high, so what new recession are you speaking of, I can't recall ever recovering from the last one.

The current unemployment reported as 7.7% for Nov. will seem low compared to next year if the Congress does not act. The CBO said the economy would contract by 0.5 percent in calendar year 2013 if the George W. Bush-era tax rates expire and automatic spending cuts are implemented. Unemployment also would rise from 8.2 percent in 2012 to 9.1 percent next year, the office estimates. Pressure from business and the public would force major increases in spending and a new round of tax incentives which would insure a slow recovery.

Who blinks first in this political battle is of little economic consequence, as long as one side or the other does before we head into another recession.