21 December 2012, I wonder how many Dumb ‘mericans out there think the “fiscal cliff” is some kind-o-god sent law, like the ten commandments. Well, it’s a done deal but not because of any divine power, it was created by almost the very same ‘elected’ republicans and democrats who now act like they’re trying to stop it.
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, John Boehner, cancelled 21 December’s vote on a proposal designed to draw concessions from President Barack Obama. But don’t blame Obama, that starts with President George W. Bush, and it was Congress who wrote the law!
The tax increases and government spending cuts can be traced back to the Bush tax cuts, aka Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. But it’s not that simple, as it involves successive Acts passed under the Bush and Obama administrations (Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, Tax Relief American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 [aka Stimulus] Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 and finally Budget Control Act of 2011).
All those ‘Acts’ were intended to save the economy through tax reductions and government spending increases. However, most of the tax reductions helped only the ultra-rich and the Too Big to Fails (it’s now clear they did not spend it on creating the millions of new jobs economists said were needed), and most spending increases (like the military) came with spending cuts elsewhere (like social programs).
So almost every elected official in the U.S. Congress, now, are the same people that created those Acts, and if not the same person it’s the very same political parties controlling the House and Senate, remember the recent ‘elections’?
In their wisdom they threw in massive ‘automatic’ austerity cuts if their previous efforts to save the U.S. economy failed. They claim they’re ‘automatic’ because they can through up their hands and say “Oh, we can’t do anything about it, it’s the law!” Yeah, the very law they created!
And then there’s the incompetent media, who’s giving us daily reports on the ‘progress’ being made to stop the fiscal cliff. Idiots! It’s a done deal! Think about it, what is(are) the plan(s) our elected officials are coming up with? Tax increases and spending cuts! In other words what we’re facing is either massive austerity measures or tax increases and government spending cuts. Austerity is austerity, but if you’ve been paying attention to what’s happening in many European countries then you should know this isn’t over. Most Euro countries (especially Greece) have been passing austerity measures, only to have to turn around and pass more tax increases and government spending cuts just a few months later.
No matter how you look at it, the Fiscal Cliff is a done deal!