The Democrat-led Senate, apparently with the cooperation of some RINOs, has decided to raise our tax rates, but not cut spending at all. All spending keeps increasing as it always has. A few of those increases get shaved by a fraction of a percentage point, but they are still increases, pretty much the same size as they were before the "agreement".
That, coupled with the depressing effect the tax rate increases will have on the economy, will do ZERO to pull us out of the deepening hole we are in. We will likely be WORSE OFF than we were before the agreement.
Good job, Senate RINOs. (I'm not bothering to address the Democrats, they're just being Democrats, as incapable of changing their economically destructive behavior as skunks are to quit smelling bad).
House, you are our last line of defense. We're counting on you to stop this further stride into economic depression. You know as well as we do, that "the rich not paying enough taxes" is not the cause of our curent problems, huge debt, etc.
The problem is, as it has long been, that government is spending WAY too much. And this agreement does nothing to address that problem. In fact, it increases spending even MORE.
What kind of insane lunacy is that?
The Democrats and fellow traveler RINOs are making even Adam Lanza look reasonable with this stuff.
Come on, House. REJECT THIS "AGREEMENT".
You House Republicans campaigned on a firm promise not to raise taxes, and your constituents elected you for that reason. And, amazingly, you have stuck to your guns through thick and thin... until now. Don't change your stripes at this late date.
Since this "agreement" takes us over the cliff just as firmly as no agreement at all, the least you can do is make sure there are no signatures on it except Democrat ones. They clearly want us to go over the cliff, and there is nothing we can do to stop it, the laws being what they currently are. So why endorse their plan? Why sign on to a scheme that says "Low taxes are why we got into this, and tax increases are the way to get out of it", when you know that's not so?
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Details of tentative deal that would avert fiscal crisis | Fox News
Details of tentative deal that would (not) avert fiscal crisis
Published January 01, 2013
Associated Press WASHINGTON – Highlights of a tentative agreement Monday between the White House and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., aimed at averting wide tax increases and budget cuts scheduled to take effect in the new year. The measure would raise taxes by about $600 billion over 10 years compared with tax policies that expire at midnight Monday. It would also delay for two months across-the-board spending cuts otherwise set to begin slashing the budgets of the Pentagon and numerous domestic agencies.
Highlights include:
--Income tax rates: Extends decade-old tax cuts on incomes up to $400,000 for individuals, $450,000 for couples. Earnings above those amounts would be taxed at a rate of 39.6 percent, up from the current 35 percent. Extends Clinton-era caps on itemized deductions and the phase-out of the personal exemption for individuals making more than $250,000 and couples earning more than $300,000.
--Estate tax: Estates would be taxed at a top rate of 40 percent, with the first $5 million in value exempted for individual estates and $10 million for family estates. In 2012, such estates were subject to a top rate of 35 percent.
--Capital gains, dividends: Taxes on capital gains and dividend income exceeding $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for families would increase from 15 percent to 20 percent.
--Alternative minimum tax: Permanently addresses the alternative minimum tax and indexes it for inflation to prevent nearly 30 million middle- and upper-middle income taxpayers from being hit with higher tax bills averaging almost $3,000. The tax was originally designed to ensure that the wealthy did not avoid owing taxes by using loopholes.
--Other tax changes: Extends for five years Obama-sought expansions of the child tax credit, earned income tax credit, and an up to $2,500 tax credit for college tuition. Also extends for one year accelerated "bonus" depreciation of business investments in new property and equipment, a tax credit for research and development costs and a tax credit for renewable energy such as wind-generated electricity.
--Unemployment benefits: Extends jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed for one year.
--Cuts in Medicare reimbursements to doctors: Blocks a 27 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors for one year. The cut is the product of an obsolete 1997 budget formula.
--Social Security payroll tax cut: Allows a 2 percentage point cut in the payroll tax first enacted two years ago to lapse, which restores the payroll tax to 6.2 percent.
--Across-the-board cuts: Delays for two months $109 billion worth of across-the-board spending cuts set to start striking the Pentagon and domestic agencies this week. Cost of $24 billion is divided between spending cuts and new revenues from rules changes on converting traditional individual retirement accounts into Roth IRAs.
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