House and Senate leaders emerged from the White House today with cautious optimism about the probability of a deal to avert the fiscal cliff.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) suggested setting a Christmas deadline to come with a solution to the end of the Bush-era tax cuts and massive sequestration spending cuts.
“And while we’re going to continue to have revenue on the table, it is going to be incumbent for my colleagues to show the American people that we’re serious about cutting spending and solving our fiscal dilemma. I believe that we can do this and avert the fiscal cliff that’s right in front of us today,” said House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).
“We should show some milestones of success so that confidence can build as we reach our solution because if we do not reach agreement, not only will we miss the opportunity for doing something good for our economy and lifting the experience and confidence in our country, we will have an economic downturn that must be avoided,” Pelosi said. “We understand our responsibility there.”
And so it is like when we arrive at a point where we all know something has to be done, there is no more ‘let’s do it some other time,’” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said. “We’re going to do it now. I think there is we feel very comfortable with each other and this isn’t something we’re going to wait until the last day of December to get it done.”
Reid indicated he’ll keep the upper chamber in session through the Thanksgiving break to work on a deal.
After the holiday, leaders will meet again with President Obama.
“I can say on the part of my members that we fully understand that you can’t save the country until you have entitlement programs that fit the demographics of the changing America in the coming years,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “We’re prepared to put revenue on the table, provided we fix the real problem.”
Give ‘em all the tax increases they want. Make them own them all—particularly since so many wealthy fools supported Obama.
That’s why they need an excise tax instead of more income taxes. Income taxes tax poor people trying to get wealthier. Excise taxes tax people who are already there. And make it apply to non-profits. Harvard has $30 billion sitting around. Tax 1% of asset value every year. That’ll be $30 mil, Harvard.
Just don’t tell these fools that that’s exactly what inflation is, and we’re in for some serious inflation if the economy ever recovers.
I was saying long before the election, stop fighting them, give everyone employed by the government or who receives benefits a one billion dollar an hour raise, enough that everyones’s first check will bounce and let’s call it what it is, bankruptcy. Then let’s do what has to be done, start from scratch…..
If the country is going to be as unreasonable as the twinkie union, we are going to go bust soon anyway, lets just do it and get started.
– the Grinch and Reid the Liar.
McConnell and Boehner just need to shut the hell up. Let the Dems take the lead; the Dem’s game here is for Republicans to propose the spending cuts, so the Republicans can take the beating.
Just. . . shut. . . up. Every time you open your yap, you’re playing their game. The Republican message should be:
“We await with great interest the introduction of a bill that has the full backing of the Senate majority and the White House. We are a legislative body; we will negotiate legislation once it is introduced.”
Why are we conservatives trying to protect the wealth of the liberal rich folks who contributed to the Obama campaign and clearly voted for him?
Elections have consequences. Its a democracy damn it, and these folks have told us what they want, so I say (hat tim to Mr. Mencken), give it to them good and hard.
Oh, and I would accept a complete rollover for anything Obambi wants, provided he gives up Reid and Pelosi and they go to prison for life.
Hollywood needs to pay its fair share. Let the distribution of poverty be fair and universal.