Fiscal Cliff MEGATHREAD: Wile E. Economy falls off, lands in cloud at bottom

[Phillip V]

http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21569058-barack-obama-wrings-11th-hour-deal-taxes-john-boehner-and-republicans

[MadImmortalMan]

Don't forget the foreclosure/short sale write-down tax exemption. That's big. They extended it one more year.

[Phillip V]

Many the new Congress will be more pragmatic?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/04/us/first-day-of-113th-congress-brings-more-women-to-capitol.html

[Ed Anger]

Disgusting. Women in power.

[derspiess]

Disgusting. Women in power.

Not one of them is making me a damned sandwich.

[Admiral Yi]

Would any of the people who were vehemently defending Obama's deficit reduction credentials during the last debt limit crisis like to comment on the current state of affairs?

[derspiess]

Would any of the people who were vehemently defending Obama's deficit reduction credentials during the last debt limit crisis like to comment on the current state of affairs?

I'm guessing their answer will mostly include bitching about how the GOP doesn't "really" want to reduce spending.

[Admiral Yi]

I'm guessing their answer will mostly include bitching about how the GOP doesn't "really" want to reduce spending.

10 fake quatloos says the run away run away faction will outnumber the change the subject faction.

[Razgovory]

Would any of the people who were vehemently defending Obama's deficit reduction credentials during the last debt limit crisis like to comment on the current state of affairs?

Why?

[Admiral Yi]

Would any of the people who were vehemently defending Obama's deficit reduction credentials during the last debt limit crisis like to comment on the current state of affairs?

Why?

Intellectual honesty?  Integrity?

[Razgovory]

Would any of the people who were vehemently defending Obama's deficit reduction credentials during the last debt limit crisis like to comment on the current state of affairs?

Why?

Intellectual honesty?  Integrity?

What about it?

[derspiess]

Lol, Raz awkwardly trying to pull a Yi.

[Razgovory]

I'm not seeing what he's getting at.  The new deal will reduce the deficit correct?

[Admiral Yi]

I'm not seeing what he's getting at.  The new deal will reduce the deficit correct?

Of course not.  Look at Phil's little table.  The deal cost 197 billion in lost revenue on middle class income tax.  11 billion in delayed cuts in Medicare payments.  30 billion in another year of extended unemployment benefits.

Obama supporters were crowing back in the summer about his offer to Boehner of gigantic cuts in spending in exchange for minimal increases in taxes on the rich.  That has disappeared.  The sequester that was the result of the GOP holding the debt limit hostage is on life support.  The reduction in payments to Medicare providers that was supposed to make Obamacare revenue neutral is proving to be the sham it was predicted to be.

So I'm offering this opportunity for Obama deficit hawk cheerleaders to man up and admit they had it wrong.

[Razgovory]

The article that came with it the table (from your favorite newsource!) said otherwise.

The deal cuts $737 billion from deficits over the coming decade, primarily through $618 billion of higher taxes on the rich and the resulting interest savings. But that barely dents the $10 trillion in deficits America was on track to accumulate in that time, roughly 5% of GDP on current policies, according to the Congressional Budget Office

So not much, but a little.