What Should Congress Do to Avoid Going Over the ‘Fiscal Cliff?’
Lawmakers have Dec. 31 deadline to prevent start of automatic tax hikes and budget cuts.
After kicking the can down the road to avoid making hard choices in the face of an election, lawmakers now have just a few weeks to face financial reality for the American people. Experts may debate whether it’s a “fiscal cliff” or a gentle slope, but everyone seems to agree that dealing with the deficit and expiration of Bush-era tax cuts is a must. (See Wall Street Journal video explainer.) Congress set their own deadline to do so of Dec. 31, 2012, conveniently after the election. But with another election at least two years away, it's now time to do something about it. Up until now, each Party has blamed the other for the footdragging, but all indications are that the American people are tired of the deadlock in Washington. They're …
Brian
4:59 am on Friday, December 14, 2012
I think we're going over the cliff, at least temporarily. Be prepared to have more withheld in January. I personally think the Republicans should just give in, so long as there are at least a few hundred billion more spending cuts added, and protections for small businesses like contractors that may end up in that $200,000 range and hire people and may need to cut staff. more ›