CBO scores the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (aka Senate cliff bill) (.pdf)

[PoliticAverse]

http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/American%20Taxpayer%20Relief%20Act.pdf

Net Changes in Deficits (2013-2022): $ 3,971,177,000,000.

[Keefer]

1. That means the deficit goes...

UP!

[awake]

2. So this will cut the deficit by %33 over 10 year, works for me

[awake]

4. oops I did not read that right it will be a increase of about $4 T HOLLY SHIT

[blueclown]

3. Keep in mind this is based on the current policy baseline.

Which already had the Bush tax cuts expiring. So all calculations of revenues decreasing are based on a baseline that had revenues increasing from the last fiscal year.

[frazzled]

5. Exactly ... as compared to letting all Bush tax cuts expire

it will increase the deficit by 3.9 trillion more than it would have otherwise. That's kind of an abstract number for most of us. And we already knew that the preponderance of those cuts were not going to be allowed to lapse.

[JoeBlowToo]

6. Simple solution...50% cut in military spending saves $4 trillion in 10 years...

And you are still spending twice as much as any other country on this planet.

[MissMarple]

9. That sounds like a Tea Party austerity "plan".

The military-industrial complex is so integrated into our economy that draconian kind of approach could have undesirable and unintended effects.

[DavidDvorkin]

10. Sounds good to me.

[spooky3]

11. To me too

[blueclown]

12. It shouldn't.

It would have devastating effects on our economy. The military budget is full of bloat, but it also employs countless middle-class citizens who would be the receipients of these draconian cuts.

[AgingAmerican]

7. It's pretty obvious where the deficits come from

Half the deficit comes from the Bush tax cuts. They should have just let all of them expire.

[NoOneMan]

8. But money does grow on trees

Looks like we are going to need more trees