Do you know how it would impact you and your family?
What do you think Washington should do to avert it? Why?
Thoughts? My LO is on a playdate and I'm bored.

I feel like we already pay so much in taxes this will bring more into the mix and stretch out paychecks even thinner.

I'm worried about it, they havent passed a budget in 4 years so I am not confident these talks will work

Quoting ♡Sarah♡ + 2:" I feel like we already pay so much in taxes this will bring more into the mix and stretch out paychecks ... [snip!] ... even thinner. I'm worried about it, they havent passed a budget in 4 years so I am not confident these talks will work"

I think they will negotiate a tax hike for those couples and small businesses making over $500k. So, i dont think we will go over the cliff. BUT, i dont think there will be anything done on entitlement reform.
So, taxing the rich will drag on the economy and spending will continue, so we will continue to "circle the drain."

Quoting TheNuge:" I think they will negotiate a tax hike for those couples and small businesses making over $500k. So, ... [snip!] ... reform. So, taxing the rich will drag on the economy and spending will continue, so we will continue to "circle the drain.""

Yeah, its not going to fix anything.

The smurfs are so polarized, uncompromising and corrupted by the money in politics that I have no faith in that system anymore.

Quoting Leisurely Duchess:" The smurfs are so polarized, uncompromising and corrupted by the money in politics that I have no faith in that system anymore. "

It's very sad and very scary.

So really, it's like this all over again, because we haven't really changed anything we've been doing

Quoting Leisurely Duchess:" So really, it's like this all over again, because we haven't really changed anything we've been doing

!!!!

Quoting Leisurely Duchess:"
"

I understand his passion about the topic. I disagree with his solution regarding the Presdident "taking it to the people," and underscoring the fact that congress is "bought" as our president is also bought and beholden to the interest groups that got him elected.
This is basic math and the american people should be given a lesson on that. BUT, based on the results of the last election, i dont have a lot of confidence in "the people's" desire to learn and apply common sense much beyond "the here and now."
I cant tell you how annoyed i was to hear our President today say that he just wants to hike taxes now and talk about spending and deficits/debt "next year."

Nope. I haven't been following it at all.  

Actually, I pulled my investments from the stock market and put it all in gold and silver. I've upped my prepping and I'm ready to just go out to the country and get off the grid.

Quoting khigh:" Nope. I haven't been following it at all.   Actually, I pulled my investments from the stock ... [snip!] ... and put it all in gold and silver. I've upped my prepping and I'm ready to just go out to the country and get off the grid."

lol. While we had power during and after Hurricane Sandy, there is no way I would choose to be without high amperage.

Maybe if all the money we spent buying power ball tickets went to helping us get out of debt we wouldn't be so bad off. We can buy lottery tickets and all the other unnecessary items we tend to buy, but complain about having to pay more in taxes.

Quoting *You Are My Sunshine*:" Maybe if all the money we spent buying power ball tickets went to helping us get out of debt we wouldn't ... [snip!] ... We can buy lottery tickets and all the other unnecessary items we tend to buy, but complain about having to pay more in taxes. "

A person living in New York City making over $250,000 a year (not much there compared to cost of living) pays 60% of their income in taxes when you count, federal, state, county, and city. How much of the money they EARNED do you think they should be able to keep?

Quoting TheNuge:" I understand his passion about the topic. I disagree with his solution regarding the Presdident "taking ... [snip!] ... was to hear our President today say that he just wants to hike taxes now and talk about spending and deficits/debt "next year.""

I agree with you that the pres is prob also bought because he comes from the Dem and both the Dem and GOP are as bought as Congress if not worse. Like Dylan said the Dems aren't really that much better than the GOP, they just want to kick the can down the road till next election. I think he just meant that he wanted whatever president was in office to say and do those things, Obama's in now so he wants Obama to do it.

And I also agree that the public is a big problem; we're way too into our own toys to care that much, and when we do care we're too ignorant and ill-equipped to make wise decisions, we get too entrenched in our parties' crap and mainstream media without really paying attention to what we vote for, or worse, voting with our beliefs [not necessarily religious] even when evidence shows that they're harmful etc. Many of us are just as uncompromising and intolerant as the politicians, and that's really wrong because compromise is a vital component of politics, governing and diplomacy.