Question of the Week: Will There Be Spending Cuts?

The recent fiscal cliff deal avoided tax increases, but did not address spending cuts.

Although the recent deal to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff" has prevented tax hikes for the vast majority of Americans, there are still many financial problems looming on the horizon. The deal avoided discussing spending cuts, which are necessary to rein in the country's roughly $16.4 trillion debt. The deadline for sequestration-across the board spending cuts-has been pushed back to March 1, which is also the deadline to raise the debt ceiling. If sequestration goes into effect, the Department of Defense will see deep cuts, which may affect troop readiness and could see the furlough of civilian employees.

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John Wagner

4:08 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013

I can only advise the right way to do it (but it will never happen). Entitlements will need to be updated as the forecast assumptions were way off...but efficiency must be done first. A "department by department" review is needed. Congress should require in depth budget review meetings with first the House including recommendations for cuts/efficiency. Eliminating redundancy and cutting low …   more ›

Congressman Price Votes Against Fiscal Cliff Deal

Like many Republicans, Price did not agree with the compromise.

Conservative Rep. Tom Price (R-District 6) voted against the last-minute fiscal cliff deal passed by Congress over New Year's, according to govtrack.us. A real solution includes both revenue increases and spending reductions," Price recently said on CNN's "State of the Union." Price isn't the only member of Congress - especially among the GOP - to believe the compromise was ill-fitted to the need and will only lead to more hard decisions soon. The deal raises taxes on individual incomes over $400,000 and over $450,00 for household incomes and a portion of estates more than $5 million. The compromise is said to allow Congress to have more time to work on government spending.

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Going Over the Fiscal Cliff: What it Means

The financial deadline looms in Washington, with no deal yet made. Check this primer, and share your questions and thoughts.

Fiscal Cliff: What It Means For My 2013 Paycheck?

The financial deadline looms in Washington, with no deal yet made. Check this primer, and share your questions and thoughts.

With Christmas 2012 over, one reality check is that the looming "fiscal cliff" deadline is just a day away. On Dec. 31, tax cuts dating to the George W. Bush presidential term are scheduled to expire and President Obama and congressional leaders have not reached a compromise. Of course, that means tax bills would increase for many middle- and upper-class taxpayers. And that means paycheck withholding for many workers would change, leaving them with less take-home pay starting in the new year. Apparently, though, there will be no immediate change in withholding tables, while the situation is unresolved. According to John Tuzynski, the IRS’ chief of employment tax policy, employers should continue to use 2012 withholding tables and personal …

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Fulton County GOP Demands its Leaders Stick to Republican Principles

Local leaders are asking everyone who agrees to sign a petition.

It started with the simple idea to write a letter of support to Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) for his steadfast position on fiscal restraint and holding the line on tax increases. It turned into a call to fellow Republicans across the country to stand by its convictions as the fiscally prudent Party.    By an overwhelming majority, the Fulton County Republican Party (FultonGOP) voted to approve a petition that was written by FultonGOP members and approved by its Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is comprised of the FultonGOP leadership who are all elected to their positions.  It calls on Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and all Republicans to abide by the Party’s own stated principles of lower taxes and smaller government.   "For the …

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Does Washington Have a Spending Problem or a Revenue Problem?

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 …

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Good Grief Y'all

7:34 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Yes, I think before I post. And, again, you're just belatedly agreeing with me on the gunpoint-tax issue. No, I don't speed. Learned that lesson a few expensive times a couple of decades ago. Speeding doesn't get you there any faster, in most cases. Have you ever noticed, driving along and somebody flies past you. You stay steady on the speed limit, and then you pull up right behind or beside the…   more ›

Talk About Price For Speaker

A spokesman for the Roswell-area Congressman says he won't be challenging John Boehner as the "fiscal cliff" looms.

U.S. Rep. Tom Price's name has been wagging tongues all day in Washington and at home in metro Atlanta. On Monday, the Roswell Republican, was the subject of an article in the conservative magazine National Review. In "Boehner's Biggest Threat," writer Robert Costa indicated that Price may challenge Speaker John Boehner if a federal budget deal falls through. But Price said through a spokesman later Monday that he won't be challenging Boehner as the so-called "fiscal cliff" over the federal budget looms. A aide to House leadership is quoted in the National Review article as saying that “Price is the person we’re all watching. We know he’s frustrated, but we don’t know much else.” The fifth-highest ranking Republican in the House GOP …

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What Would You Like to See Congress do to Avoid Going Over the ‘Fiscal Cliff?’

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 …

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