Wake me up when the fiscal cliff negotiations are over
You may have noticed that I haven’t bothered to blog about the fiscal cliff negotiations and I have no intention to after I am through with this post. Frankly, I am tired of what seems to be the constant debate over the debt ceiling and the budget. It seems like every few months the Congress and the president are taking these issues up again and I am tired of writing about it so I will focus on other issues. Both parties were afraid to make tough decisions before the election and that is why we are in this position once again.
During the last debate over the debt ceiling the Congress set up was was called either a super committee or a super Congress depending on who you listened to and this was designed to trigger automatic spending cuts and tax increases which were supposed to be offensive to both parties thereby forcing the Congress to come to a deal. Predictably this didn’t happen and now we are set to fall off the fiscal cliff that the two parties created. But in reality this super committee accomplished its goal because what the Congress really wanted was a delay in the negotiations until after the election so the lame duck Congress could tackle the issue without political fallout during the election. And that is where we are today.
Both presidential candidates talked about what their plans were for the fiscal cliff–Barack Obama stated he wanted to raise taxes on the rich while Mitt Romney stated he wanted to keep the tax rates the same while closing loopholes. The American people made their choice and they decided that taxes should be increased on the rich. One thing is certain at this point, taxes are going to be raised. We just don’t know how much or who will be affected at this time. So now the Congress is trying to negotiate its way out of a situation it created in the first place and part of me says the Congress should live with the deal it created while the other part of me says the Congress should try to negotiate a less painful solution.
Let the chips fall where they may and we will all live with the results for better or for worse; while the Congress might be inept we are the ones who are ultimately responsible because we elected these people and we will have no choice but to move forward when they are through. As for me, wake me up when the fiscal cliff negotiations are over, I have no desire to involve myself in the minutia of the debates or the rhetoric coming from either side. I find myself worn out on this issue and perhaps that is what they wanted all along.
America's Watchtower 
That just about says it all Steve. Hey, maybe we’ll get lucky and they all jump off that same cliff where Paul Ryan pushed the old lady in the wheelchair.
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We would be better off if they all fell off and were never heard from again.
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You remember those dreams about falling and falling? <ost kids have them, I know I did.. Well, when ya have the next one it won't be a dream, the plunge will be real, but the fall won't hurt a bit..
That sudden stop is gonna be a bitch though…
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It sure will be, the first step is a doozy!
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Ireally believe, Steve, that Obama has decided to let us go over the cliff. He sees a great opportunity to to destroy the GOP by making it their fault. He and his other fools really think they can let us go over the cliff and they can pick things up again in January and no real harm will be done and the GOP will be dead. I don’t think they understand the risk for the country they are taking or maybe they just don’t care.
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I think you might be right Jim. Obama may feel that going over the cliff is the best of both worlds; he raises taxes on everybody, more people become dependent on the government, and he gets to blame the Republicans. He might just see this as another crisis to take advantage of.
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MAYBE, JUST MAYBE IT WILL TAKE GOING OVER THAT CLIFF TO BRING SOME SANITY BACK. LIKE YOU, I HAVE LITTLE USE FOR THIS DEBATE—TAXES WILL GO UP AS THEY ALWAYS DO AND SPENDING ON A MASSIVE SCALE WILL CONTINUE AND LIFE WILL GO ON. YES, THINGS WILL CHANGE, I FEAR FOR THE WORSE, AND IN THE END PEOPLE WILL WONDER HOW WE EVER GOT IN THIS MESS. FOOLS ELECT FOOLS AND DESERVE A FOOL’S REWARD. LIKE YOU STEVE, I HAVE OTHER FISH TO FRY AND THE GREASE IS GETTING HOT.
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I think it probably will take going over the cliff as well as the total collapse of the economy before people will begin to realize how big the problem really is and by that time it may be too late.
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STEVE, I’M THE ETERNAL OPTOMIST AND KNOW THAT FOR EVERY SUNSET THERE IS ALWAYS THAT SUNRISE THAT WILL FOLLOW. I REMEMBER AS A YOUNG MAN I SAW A HEMINGWAY MOVIE “THE SUN ALWAYS RISES” AND THOUGHT AT THE TIME IT WAS RATHER STUPID, BUT HAVING SEEN IT NUMEROUS TIMES SINCE I FINALLY SAW THE TRUTH IN WHAT HE WROTE.
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I haven’t seen that movie but perhaps I need to check it out.
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I disagree COF, these commies know exactly what they’re doing but I do agree this may spell the end of the line for the Republican Party. They refused to hang together as conservatives so now they will just hang together. And kudos to the left for sticking together and never abandoning their destroy all that us America agenda. Too bad the right couldn’t learn from them how to stand on principle. This above all: to thine own self be true…Hamlet Act I, scene 3
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That is so true; the Democrats always stand together and they never back down, while the Republicans always seem to back down when confronted and because of this they are doomed.
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Hah, Steve, the Dems are always fractured. We’re usually in awe of the GOP’s party discipline.
As to the fiscal cliff, until recently I thought the debt ceiling was tied up in it, but that’s not until February or so, unless they raise it in the current negotiations over January 1.
The GOP is shooting itself in the foot again – after the Marican people, as you said, made it clear what they want, the GOP seems to have decided to continue being obstructionist. The President was in danger of losing his job a few weeks ago, and now he’s stronger than ever. The GOP can still pull a respectable win out of this, but they’re so in thrall to what’s left of the TParty that they still think compromise is a dirty word.
At this moment, it seems as if the GOP is determined to make a last stand that could very well be suicidal.
You know what? I think what frightens them the most is the possibility that the economists were right, and that there’ll be 12 million new jobs over the next 4 years no matter who’s the President.
Anyway, if they don’t act soon, the Christmas shopping season, which started out very promising, could fizzle like a damp firecracker if these clowns don’t get off their damn high horses soon and make the deal.
Take good care, and may God bless us all!
TGY
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“Hah, Steve, the Dems are always fractured. We’re usually in awe of the GOP’s party discipline.”
Really? I guess it must be perception then and most people think their party is weak while the other is strong!
To think that after this is over we will be back onto the debt ceiling is more than I can take right now, this whole issue has worn me out. As for the Republicans, I think they will give Obama almost everything he wants. I think maybe they will get some concessions on who will be taxed but taxes will go up. Right now they are posturing to appease the base but in the end a deal will be reached…..I think.
I really don’t think Christmas spending will be affected because I think many people really aren’t watching this debate unfold before deciding how much to spend this year, they already have a budget they will stick to.
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Yeah, if they pay the same attention to their own budgets during the Xmas shopping season the way they paid attention to the economic crisis at issue during the election they will be as broke as any government agency.
As for jobs we’ll need 12,018,500 to reach the messiah’s vaunted goal. I’m still disappointed that the job creator in chief didn’t use his union influence and good will to step in and save the Twinkies from the Teamsters. Michelle must be happy that for the time being at least no Hostess Cupcake will pass the lips of those poor unsuspecting school chillins’.
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I was kind of surprised Obama didn’t chirp in while this was ongoing as well but we do know that Michelle is on a crusade against junk food so perhaps he didn’t dare.
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You think the GOP is on board with the tea party? Wow. Interesting, but wow.
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I think he meant historically, I don’t think anyone can make the case that the establishment in the Republican party has accepted the Tea Party with open arms.
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Of course they are not welcoming them, they like it the “old” way. However, it is not working out so well for us now, so things have to change.
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Yeah Lou, they don’t want anyone interfering with the good ole boy network but it really does need to be changed.
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Since theTea Party’s inception job number one for the GOP elites has been the marginalization and eventual elimination of the Tea Party. Although the TP was never invited in, a house divided cannot stand. Their mortal sin was to stand on those true conservative principals which have evolved into an anathema for the republican party. The TP was an ephemeral asset, having outlived its usefulness once election day 2010 was over. The relationship between them has been and remains schizophrenic at best while maintaining a rift in the party that allows the Democrats to play their ends against the middle. In today’s America where standing for the principals and ideals of the founding fathers, those very ideas which made this country great, have been mainstreamed into radicalism by the left with the help of the schism between the republicans and the upstart tea partiers, there seems to be little hope of defeating the now rampant anti-Americanism consuming the nation. This rift on the right has augmented Obama’s plan to use race, culture, and class to divide and conquer. One man’s opinion…
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That’s right, they stood by the Tea Party before the election because they needed them to take back the House and they thought that once they got there they could mold them but when that didn’t happen they had no more use for them.
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I did my first and last post on the cliff. I am with you entirely. It wants to take us there and now we will go there . Great comments.
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I know I should care about this issue but I just can’t bring myself to care about it, the American people have spoken and now we will live with the results.
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NOW YOU KNOW HOW INSANE THEY ARE .WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM A BUNCH OF LAWERS THAT COULD NOT GET A JOB ANY WHERE ELSE. THIS IS A SIMPLE PROCESS . RED’S AND BLUE’S NEED TO TAKE THE FEDERAL BUDGET AND PICK A PERENTAGE THAT WILL BE CUT AND DO IT . THEN YOU MUST CAP SPENDING AND ANY ONE SEGMENT OF THE BUDGET THAT IS OVER RUN, FIRE THE PERSON THAT IS INCHARGE OF IT. NEXT TAKE THE CAP OFF SOCIAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTIONS THIS WILL HELP FIX SS
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There is no way they will ever set a spending cap, I guess the debt ceiling is a type of cap and we know they just keep raising it when needs be.
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It’s a self perpetuating system bound to destroy us all
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