Sunday, February 24, 2013
Well, not so fast, apparently Washington is back on that same path and hasn't yet figured out how to avoid that stretch of road.
It seems that just last month the country was on the brink of doom and disaster — facing a fiscal cliff of epic proportions. Oh wait, that was just last month. On the eve of disaster, the problem was averted by a last-minute deal that resulted in almost everybody's taxes going up. According to The Huffington Post, Washington hasn't yet figured how to get off that path and we're back on the road again, approaching that pesky fiscal cliff. Dubbing it an austeroid, a play on words relating to an austerity asteroid, The Huffington Post points out that the country is about to be hit with the "sequester" on March 1, which could cut another 0.6 percent from growth. That on top of the 1.5 hit that The Huffington Post laid at the feet of the first …
Friday, January 25, 2013
He says his decision to leave office is "about frustration."
Georgia's Senior Senator, Republican Saxby Chambliss, announced Friday that he won't be seeking a third term in 2014. According to a statement on the Senator's Website: Today, U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., released the following statement: “After much contemplation and reflection, I have decided not to run for re-election to the Senate in 2014. ‘This is a decision Julianne and I have thought through and prayed about for many weeks. I am humbled by and grateful for the extraordinary trust of Georgians, who have allowed me to represent them for 20 years in the United States House and Senate. “I am proud of my conservative voting record in fulfilling those duties. In 2008, I was honored to receive more votes than any other statewide …
Sunday, January 20, 2013
The devil is always in the details.
In case you haven’t read the fine print of the recently enacted “Fiscal Cliff” fix, here is my take on some of the provisions. Happily, our Congressmen and women did at least one thing right—they linked the income threshold for imposition of the Alternative Minimum Tax to inflation. This move will ensure that there will be no more future delays in preventing middle class tax payers from having to pay this tax, solely due to inflationary pressures. Death taxes will still be with us in 2013 and beyond. The exemption level has been left untouched—still $5 million—but the estate tax rate has been raised to 40% on estates above $5 million. There remains a hidden goodie for married couples in that any unused exemption amount at the first death…
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
“We have gone over the fiscal cliff because of Washington’s inability to control spending, and now in the eleventh hour, Congress’s only answer is to throw more money at our already outrageous problem."
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
With tax the big issue in "fiscal cliff" negotiations, would now not be the right time to take a serious look at the FairTax solution?
On Dec. 17, U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall, R-Ga-7, sent a letter to the Joint Committee on Taxation to produce a revenue estimate of H.R. 25 and S. 13, the FairTax bill. According to a press release from Woodall's office, this estimate would allow the FairTax proposal to be considered during congressional negotiations for tax reform. “The current tax code has become too burdensome and complex, and is filled with provisions that benefit only a few Americans at the expense of everyone else. That’s simply not right,” said Chambliss. “Now is the time to enact the FairTax, which would create a fairer, simpler tax code that allows every American the freedom to determine his or her own priorities and opportunities…
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Depending on your opinion, what programs would you be prepared to cut, or what percentage of your income would you be prepared to give in taxes, to fix the problem?
As "fiscal cliff" negotiations heat up, congress can’t agree on whether Washington has a spending problem or a revenue problem. Nor can the American people or, in many instances, even economist In an article on Marketplace.org, headed up “Washington has a spending problem not a revenue problem,” the argument is made that you can’t keep spending and just raising taxes to meet the outflow of money. The best way to fix the country’s deficit problem is to gut spending. In a story in the Daily Kos, Joan McCarter looks at it from the other side in an article titled, “We have a revenue problem, not a spending problem.” In the story, McCarter shows the loss in revenue as a result of the Bush tax cuts and the economic downturn in the economy …
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
President Obama is back in campaign mode, touring the country to raise awareness about the 'looming fiscal cliff.' But isn't it now time for Washington to stop talking and do something?
According to multiple news sources, President Barack Obama has embarked on a tour to make a public case for his administration's plan for addressing the impending "fiscal cliff." So what is the fiscal cliff? It's the changes expected to go into effect when the 2011 Budget Control Act expires at the end of the year. Among the changes are: At the same time, spending cuts agreed on in last year's debt ceiling agreement will go into effect, meaning steep cuts to things like the defense budget and Medicare. According to the Associated Press, both sides warn that going over the cliff could harm the fragile economic recovery, but the White House and congressional Republicans still differ on whether the answer is to raise taxes or close tax …
Monday, November 19, 2012
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 …
In an Atlanta Journal-Constitution opinion piece, Michael Adams and G.P. "Bud" Peterson say the federal government should be careful where it trims spending.
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Monday, November 19, 2012
As Congress and President Obama work to settle on a budget deal and avoid the self-imposed "fiscal cliff" of mandatory spending reductions, they must take care not to undermine university research, UGA and Georgia Tech's president's argue in a recent opinion column. "Much of America’s competitive advantage in innovation can be linked back to university research," the University of Georgia's Michael Adams and Georgia Tech's G.P. “Bud” Peterson write in a guest column published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "In our increasingly global environment, if we reduce our investment in education and research while other countries increase theirs, we could compromise the very advantages that have made America strong." The presidents call for …
Good Grief Y'all
5:39 pm on Monday, February 25, 2013
That guy, you're making good sense. more ›