Looks like everyone's taxes are going up

[AngryAmish]

Rethugs won't budge on this.

Will this be a good thing or bad thing for the country?

[stray cat]

1. If people are worried about the budget deficit - its great!

if they care about the unemployed or the economy its not!

[inna]

21. false choice.

[polichick]

2. Good for the deficit, good for Social Security and other "entitlements"...

They can get the unemployment extension separately - as usual, after many votes.

[Autumn]

5. And they will get an extension,

it's foolish to believe otherwise.

[leeroysphitz]

8. Exactly and your statement has been true from the start of this farcical bit of theatre. n/t

[Hawkeye-X]

24. Exactly. Obama can extend it by funding it from the surplus stimulus funds

that he still has....

[Autumn]

29. Now that has me puzzled. If Obama can do that,

why this dirty little deal?

[jeff47]

40. Because he can't.

He'd have to go back to Congress and get permission to spend the funds differently.

[Autumn]

41. But the money is there in unused funds? So

if it was used it would not add to the deficit, correct?

[jeff47]

48. It would not add to the deficit, but

It would not add to the deficit, but Obama can't spend it on something else. Congress has said "this money can pay for X". If Obama wants it to pay for Y, then he has to get Congress to vote to approve the change.

[Nite Owl]

9. They would be really dumb not to

vote for the unemployment extension. Rebublicans are unemployed too! Do they really want to go home for the holidays and face them after rejecting this?

[RobinA]

38. Yes

There absolutely needs to be a vote on unemployment. Although I'm not a procedure expert, so I'm sure the Repubs will find a way to not bring bares bones UI to a vote if at all possible.

[Autumn]

3. We all tighten our belts and sacrifice.

It's been done before by many.

[Nite Owl]

4. Good and it actually

lets Obama save face on a bad deal. He can say he tried and it was rejected.

[Goldstein1984]

6. It will be a good thing

If we're spending more than we're taking in, and reasonable use of credit isn't enough, then we need to spend less or take in more. This should be simple math for anyone.

The U.S. is 5% of the world's population, but we do 50% of the world's military spending. My suggestion is that we could cut spending quite a bit if we just worked on our people skills and abandon notions of empire.

[quinnox]

7. It would be the best thing

but I think Obama will work with the republicans and agree to more tax cuts, including for rich, he won't need the Democrats anymore when the new Congress comes into place.

It will be the start of a two year dream for him, an ocean of bipartisanship with the GOP.

[JuniperLea]

10. Demand for goods and services is the only way to build and stabilize an economy...

Tax breaks don't stimulate growth. No business person worth their salt will increase their payroll just because they have the funds to do so. A good business person increases payroll when demand for goods or services rises. The only way to make the demand rise is to make sure the masses have some funds.

Fund the unemployed, businesses grow, hiring goes up, more people have money to spend, demand goes up, more hiring... etc.

[leeroysphitz]

11. I'm a real liberal. I don't cry about having to pay my share. n/t

[EstimatedProphet]

12. I'll pay more taxes, thank you.

Suits me when looking at what long-term damage the bill would do.

[reformist2]

13. I would have said it was bad, but then I learned about the attack on SS.

Now I'm convinced the whole deal is evil. Better taxes go up for everyone than they be allowed to kill Social Security.

[lame54]

14. let's all kick in to get the country back on track

[Luciferous]

15. Fine by me.

[kctim]

16. Bad

Pay cuts in hard and fearful times changes votes.

[shireen]

17. i hope there will be an exemption for people in poverty

as well as people who have just lost their homes to foreclosure, or gone out of business because of the economy.

I can't speak for others, but I'm middle-class, and as much as I need the money for future goals, I'm willing to pay higher taxes if it means helping others and reducing the deficit so the future generations don't get saddled with our mistakes.

[bluestateguy]

18. I've already made a list of monthly spending cuts that I will make if my taxes go up

Let's just say that my cable company should be rooting for this bill to pass.

[LynneSin]

19. For most of us the tax increase will not be significant.

I mean if you happen to be a gadzillionaire you might notice the change but for the most part it won't have major impacts on anyone.

[gratuitous]

20. I am prepared to pay more in taxes

In fact, I don't mind paying a higher rate at all, and if everyone's rates go up, that's pretty fair, in my opinion. As someone who's scrambled for 30 years, economizing, saving, and putting a little dab aside through frugal living, it doesn't affect my lifestyle in the least. And if we go back to the rates we had when we were running budget surpluses, it will be good for the country.

And what about the beleaguered wealthy? Well, they can reduce their tax burden by creating a few jobs, something they don't have an incentive to do with a lower tax rate. Right now, their incentive is to send their wealth haring around the globe, looking for the best return on their investment. If they're being taxed at the exorbitant rate of an extra three cents per dollar over $250,000 (the horror . . . the horror), maybe they'll decide to do something to lower their taxable income rather than increase it. And hiring a few people is a really good way for a wealthy person or an obscenely profitable corporation to lower its liability.

[slackmaster]

34. If the rates go up, I'll start contributing heavily to my 401k

I ran some rough numbers. I could end up deferring enough so the effect would be me contributing less in federal taxes than I do now, for the next several years.

[myrna minx]

22. I will gladly pay more taxes to protect Social Security. Now it's time to

make the greedy top 2% kick in their fair share.

[Hawkeye-X]

23. I'm fine with it. *'s tax cuts was a disaster, it actually lowers the deficit

to about 4 trillion.

[Cleita]

25. That means that those people still have jobs

or other income. I think it would be the best thing even though some belt tightening would be in order. I believe our leaders could probably figure out a way to lessen the sting for the working poor, maybe by raising the minimum wage or by issuing food stamps to more low income people.

[ProudDad]

26. It will be irrelevant...

[spooky3]

27. when push comes to shove they WILL budge, but the Dems. must strategize to make this happen.

No more weak, scattered approach. Hang together and hang tough.

[reformist2]

28. I agree. Enough Republicans will cave, if Democrats hang together.

[Kablooie]

31. Hang together and hang tough? Democrats? Ummm .... don't think so.

[badtoworse]

36. When do you think they would budge? Now or in January?

[spooky3]

47. depends on what the Dems. do.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

30. I think it will be a good thing -

We desperately need the tax revenue.

I am a member of the working poor but will happily forego my tax cut to help the country.

[slackmaster]

32. I don't know about the country, but it would cost me about $200 per month

:argh:

[Dawgs]

33. Okay with me. n/t

[Tommy_Carcetti]

35. Oh well.

As a member of the middle class, I'll be perfectly honest and say I don't really care if I get a tax cut or not. I don't think the difference between what I would have paid under Clinton and what I would have paid under Dubya would be that substantial that it would put me in a major hole. And given the choice whether to increase taxes in a responsible, progressive manner (with the higher burden falling on the people who can most easily afford the additional tax responsiblity), or to cut spending, I'll take the former over the latter any day.

[raouldukelives]

37. Fine by me

I'd prefer not to destabilize social security any further.

[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ecstatic]

42. Personally, I would have liked a cut

My household is changing and I need to be able to deduct as much as possible. :(

[n2doc]

43. Clinton showed that when taxes go up the economy gets better

So I am fine with that. This deal sucked, anyway.

[Rex]

44. We NEED to raise taxes!

That is what has hurt America for decades now, these silly and wasteful tax cuts without any idea where the MONEY to pay for them will come from!

TAX US! WE NEED NEW ROADS!

[Ganja Ninja]

45. Wow all the way back up to the Clinton levels!

Oh heaven forfend! How will we ever survive?

[NewJeffCT]

46. Won't budge on what?

Last I heard, the Democrats are going to cave on the Bush tax cuts for income over $250,000?

[Liberal_in_LA]

49. Depends on how much they go up

[nadinbrzezinski]

50. The last time taxes went up, I hate to point this out,

the economy did well....

I mean perhaps I slept through the 90s, but it did. And that was with all the noise that it would not.

Of course back then the POTUS did not say that raising taxes would lead to the next great depression... that's what the RIGHT did.

Those words could be fatal, but hell, whatever.