Avoiding the Fiscal Cliff
Posted by Whitney Thompson on November 30, 2012
House Republicans understand the fiscal cliff must be averted, and have proposed a bipartisan framework that would accomplish this through significant spending cuts and tax reform with lower rates, consistent with the ‘balanced’ approach President Obama has said he wants.  

Democrats in Congress have downplayed the danger of going over the cliff, and continue to rule out sensible spending cuts that must be part of any significant agreement to reduce the deficit. Even if a deal is reached, specific areas of the tax code may still lapse and effect investors.  Most investment income will also be subject to a 3.8 percent charge to help pay for President Obama’s health care law that will automatically take effect on January 1, 2013.

2013 should be the year we begin to solve our nation's debt problem through tax reform and entitlement reform.  Both parties should work together now to avert the fiscal cliff together in a manner that ensures this happens.  Such reforms are essential to achieving economic growth, without which our nation’s debt problem cannot be solved.  

House Republicans have done the hard work to put forward a balanced approach that raises revenue and cuts spending.  I continue to believe that tax increases of any kind are not good for Americans and detrimental to our broader economy.  Families are hurting right now and asking them to contribute more to Washington’s spending problem is not a reasonable solution.  There are other ways to raise revenue without raising taxes, including closing tax loopholes and capping deductions that, along with cuts to entitlements, will put our country back on the path to fiscal responsibility. This sensible approach to our nations’ debt problem has been proposed to President Obama.

What do you think? How can we avoid the fiscal cliff while cutting spending and reducing the deficit? Please submit your comments below.
Comments
The opinions expressed below are those of their respective authors and do not necessarily represent those of this office.
  • Cathy J Shufelt from Flower Mound commented on 11/30/2012
    I'm not so sure the fiscal cliff can be avoided with the current administration. And quite frankly, I would rather go over that cliff than to bow down and fully yield to everything this president is demanding. It doesn't take a genius to understand that we can't spend our way back to a prosperous economy. We must have spending cuts: I believe a cut of $2 for every $1 of tax increase would be a good start. Everything should be on the table, without exception. Programs that give financial support to governments that are not friendly to the US or continue to pursue agendas that are counter to our best interests need to be overhauled or scrapped, starting with the United Nations. We also need to find ways to eliminate the waste and fraud in the national budget. Get rid of agencies that have duplicate funtions. Eliminate government handouts to non citizens-if they don't pay into the system, they should not expect anything from the system. Social security needs to be reformed. The retirement age should be bumped up again. People are living longer. And this includes the minimum retirement age. A means test for receiving social security and medicare should be established. In my household, I have to either earn more or reduce my spending to balance my budget. I don't rely on a credit card to fill the gap. I cut spending. Washington needs to do the same.
  • Amy S from Lewisville commented on 11/30/2012
    The Federal Government has a serious spending problem, as we all know. Cutting spending should be first and foremost, and I mean deep cuts with nothing off the table. Next we need to raise more revenue by closing all tax loopholes. Also, we need to reform social programs. If the President wants to add $50 billion in stimulus spending, I say no way. To cut spending in one spot but then increase it in another makes no sense whatsoever. Just say no. We can go off the cliff and it will hurt but if that is the only way to get the cuts we need then so be it.
  • Arthur P from Denton commented on 12/3/2012
    Republicans are trying to convince us that raising the top tax rate to Clinton levels - a whopping 3.6% above current - is going to doom our economy. What a crock!! Job creators?? My eye! Average consumers are the true job creators. When they've got good jobs and a decent wage, they've got money to spend. That creates DEMAND. Manufacturers have to create the SUPPLY to fulfill that demand, so they hire more workers, in turn creating more demand for more supply and more jobs. That is basic Supply and Demand economics. Trickle Down, supply side or Reaganomics. Doesn't matter what you call it, it doesn't work. It's a fantasy that the GOP has bought into. All it does is balloon the national debt because it doesn't create the revenue needed for the gov't to operate. Certainly not enough revenue to fund two long-term wars and an unfunded Medicare drug program after multiple unwise tax cuts - even tax cuts done AFTER we went to war! Right now, we don't have enough jobs for consumers to create demand as quickly as needed. Not borrowing money to spend on stimulating the economy when interest rates are so low - even with the House GOP-caused loss of our AAA credit rating - is insanity. The Republican bid to make Obama a 1-term President thru using Congressional obstructionism to sabotage our economic recovery has failed. He won the election. It's time to stop the garbage and deal in good faith with the Democrats. Do any of you on the right side of the aisle even remember how to do that?
  • Brad from Frisco commented on 12/4/2012
    It saddens me to see our leaders take extreme positions on both the left and right. I believe that the majority of Americans are somewhere in the middle. It is comical to see an aversion to the word "compromise" - instead, our leaders prefer "deal". I hope to live to see the day a politician is strong enough to compromise or even admit to changing their mind! As a person who would be affected by increased rates on the 2%, I am aware that I may have to make sacrifices to help our country. Whether it is a tax increase or loophole/deduction changes, I would only ask that it be accompanied by spending cuts. This my go against my preference and conservative beliefs, but it seems fair. I believe it is important to understand that if we don't have consensus, we might have to compromise in order to move forward. I suspect Americans would be understanding if our leaders could come together and present us with a grand compromise.
  • Steven from Fort Worth commented on 12/7/2012
    We shouldn't avoid the cliff. It forces exactly what this country needs most: fiscal responsibility in the form of increased revenue and reduced spending. A year from now, people will wonder why we didn't go this route deliberately.
  • Roland S from The Colony commented on 12/7/2012
    Our federal, state, county and city governments needs to accept their responsibility to spend their money wisely, just as every family has had to do when their primary source of income was decreased due to one’s unexpected unemployment – they take a hard look at what they have been accustomed to spending and take immediate actions to stop paying for non-essential stuff they do not need for their economic survival. The physical cliff syndrome could have been avoided if all government office budgets were laid out on the table, and the multitudes of non-survival stuff were immediately cut; not cut tomorrow or in the future, but immediately. Since our government has not seen fit to control its budget in this manner, the physical cliff will become the government’s unemployment benefit that will serve as a starting point to eliminate spending. Unfortunately, our government will not stop paying for the non-essential stuff that is not needed for our government s economic survival. Do this, and eliminate future physical cliff conditions.
  • First Name from City commented on 12/7/2012
    I have been republican for all of my life, but, do not understand this aversion to tax increases? I believe a combination of tax inceases and spending cuts is necessary to avert problems as seen in Europe where exessive gov. spending was the ruin of many of those coutries. The reduction of payroll taxes was one of the most ill concieved actions we have taken in the last years, taking money away from programs that need it. Most people didn't even realize they were getting this benefit. I prepared taxes for clients for some eight years and obsered extreme misuse of the tax credits issued by the government. Most abuse was in the child tax credit and earned income credit. It is time for our austerity programs, citizens have to realize that they need to pay for the privelage of being American. Glenn from Flower Mound
  • Jesse M from Keller commented on 12/7/2012
    Stop the hate! Find common ground. Pass the tax for the middle class now, it's something both parties agree with. To hold the middle class hostage to avoid the tax cut for the 2% is insane! It disrespects the will of the majority that elected the president. It's time to work with the President! Entitlement programs like medicare, military spending (yes entitlement out of control, agree with Ron Paul) will need modification. I am tired of party politics, it's time to come together for the best interest of all of America. The House of Representative Leader is insulting! He is disrespectful to the American people and a legend in his own mind. I am in agreement with the President. He better do what he was elected to do. American business need certainty to start hiring people again. Take care of the people's business, not the Democrats or Republican business. One nation under God ... Not one nation divided by political party.
  • First Name from City commented on 12/7/2012
    Stop the hate! Find common ground. Pass the tax for the middle class now, it's something both parties agree with. To hold the middle class hostage to avoid the tax cut for the 2% is insane! It disrespects the will of the majority that elected the president. It's time to work with the President! Entitlement programs like medicare, military spending (yes entitlement out of control, agree with Ron Paul) will need modification. I am tired of party politics, it's time to come together for the best interest of all of America. The House of Representative Leader is insulting! He is disrespectful to the American people and a legend in his own mind. I am in agreement with the President. He better do what he was elected to do. American business need certainty to start hiring people again. Take care of the people's business, not the Democrats or Republican business. One nation under God ... Not one nation divided by political party.
  • Jack from The Colony commented on 12/7/2012
    I believe we should jump off of the fiscal cliff asap. There are plenty of cuts to be made through out goverment including the military. Right now I would prefer that the overall revenue not be alowed to increase one cent rather than to focus on the details of the tax rate progression. That in addition to real cuts to reduce the deficit. We have a SPENDING problem. With that not being a realistic senerio, the cliff is the best option.
  • MICHAEL from ARGYLE commented on 12/7/2012
    I see that the house has proposed a budget which offers, in part, to lower the Social Security COLA. The COLA was cut drastically several years ago when food and energy were taken out of the equation. I suppose that the mental giants in Congress figured out that seniors didn't use energy to heat their homes or eat food so there would be little impact on those seniors. The current COLA doesn't even keep up with inflation now. Any further reduction will cause serious hardship on the population which depends on Social Security for the major portion of their very survival. I would more like to see Congress make cuts in other areas and repay the almost 2 Trillion dollars which was borrowed (STOLEN) from the Social Security fund. Couple that with a VERY slow increase in the age to begin full benefits would insure that Social Security will be viable for the foreseeable future. How about an across the board cut of a flat percentage of ALL government spending. I am talking about a REAL cut, not a reduction in the proposed increase. Perhaps if the penny plan proposed by Connie Mack could be dredged up.
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