Jake
12-23-2012, 04:00 PM
Do you think the US will go off the Fiscal cliff?
This mostly applies to the United States.
So there are 9 days left till the US goes off the 'Fiscal Cliff'.
The fiscal cliff is the term used for what the government will face at the end of december 2012, and the budget control act of 2011 will be placed into effect.
If no compromise or deal is reached with the gov't and lawmakers then this will happen:
◆ The Debt Ceiling. This is one of the two most critical issues we face immediately. We will bump up against the official $16.394 trillion debt ceiling by the end of this week! If the government can’t borrow, it can’t pay its bills or salaries or refinance the Treasury bills, notes and bonds as they come due. But Treasury Secretary Geithner has announced they can “borrow from other trust funds” to keep government going into mid-February. Of course, if a corporate executive did this kind of financing, he would go to jail.
◆ Unemployment Benefits. Lack of a deal will have a serious and immediate impact on the 2.1 million people currently receiving extended jobless benefits. (States pay the first six months, and the government has continued those benefits for at least 99 weeks of unemployment.) If no deal is reached, checks will stop on Dec. 29. And an additional 1 million unemployed will lose their benefit checks over the subsequent three months.
◆ Your Paycheck. If you’re working, you will immediately see less money in your paycheck in the new year, for two reasons. First, the so-called “Bush tax cuts” on which your tax rate and withholding are based, will go back to pre-2003 levels. That higher tax will start to come out of your paycheck immediately. Perhaps even more devastating to your paycheck amount, the “payroll tax holiday” (the Obama cut in Social Security taxes or FICA) will end, resulting in an additional 2 percent taken out of your gross pay. Bottom line: You will have less money to spend. The government will spend it for you.
◆ Your Tax Refund. The refund you expect may turn into a bill for more taxes. That’s because the “Alternative Minimum Tax” which makes sure that “rich” people don’t get too many deductions, will have to be calculated for your 2012 income. An estimated 28 million more taxpayers will face this new, higher tax bill.
◆ Your Doctor. Starting in January, Medicare reimbursements to physicians will be cut by 27 percent, or $11 billion, unless an agreement is reached to extend the current payment levels. Many physicians may decide not to accept new Medicare patients.
◆ State Poverty Programs. The federal government annually sends hundreds of millions of dollars to state and local governments. That spending would be cut immediately if no deal is reached — impacting programs ranging from school lunches to nursing home subsidies.
◆ Government Jobs. Without a deal, expect notices of job cuts and pay cuts — ranging from civilian to military, giving the media graphic ways to illustrate the plight of government workers and the impact on national defense.
Source: http://www.suntimes.com/business/savage/16916016-452/edging-closer-to-the-fiscal-cliff.html
This mostly applies to the United States.
So there are 9 days left till the US goes off the 'Fiscal Cliff'.
The fiscal cliff is the term used for what the government will face at the end of december 2012, and the budget control act of 2011 will be placed into effect.
If no compromise or deal is reached with the gov't and lawmakers then this will happen:
◆ The Debt Ceiling. This is one of the two most critical issues we face immediately. We will bump up against the official $16.394 trillion debt ceiling by the end of this week! If the government can’t borrow, it can’t pay its bills or salaries or refinance the Treasury bills, notes and bonds as they come due. But Treasury Secretary Geithner has announced they can “borrow from other trust funds” to keep government going into mid-February. Of course, if a corporate executive did this kind of financing, he would go to jail.
◆ Unemployment Benefits. Lack of a deal will have a serious and immediate impact on the 2.1 million people currently receiving extended jobless benefits. (States pay the first six months, and the government has continued those benefits for at least 99 weeks of unemployment.) If no deal is reached, checks will stop on Dec. 29. And an additional 1 million unemployed will lose their benefit checks over the subsequent three months.
◆ Your Paycheck. If you’re working, you will immediately see less money in your paycheck in the new year, for two reasons. First, the so-called “Bush tax cuts” on which your tax rate and withholding are based, will go back to pre-2003 levels. That higher tax will start to come out of your paycheck immediately. Perhaps even more devastating to your paycheck amount, the “payroll tax holiday” (the Obama cut in Social Security taxes or FICA) will end, resulting in an additional 2 percent taken out of your gross pay. Bottom line: You will have less money to spend. The government will spend it for you.
◆ Your Tax Refund. The refund you expect may turn into a bill for more taxes. That’s because the “Alternative Minimum Tax” which makes sure that “rich” people don’t get too many deductions, will have to be calculated for your 2012 income. An estimated 28 million more taxpayers will face this new, higher tax bill.
◆ Your Doctor. Starting in January, Medicare reimbursements to physicians will be cut by 27 percent, or $11 billion, unless an agreement is reached to extend the current payment levels. Many physicians may decide not to accept new Medicare patients.
◆ State Poverty Programs. The federal government annually sends hundreds of millions of dollars to state and local governments. That spending would be cut immediately if no deal is reached — impacting programs ranging from school lunches to nursing home subsidies.
◆ Government Jobs. Without a deal, expect notices of job cuts and pay cuts — ranging from civilian to military, giving the media graphic ways to illustrate the plight of government workers and the impact on national defense.
Source: http://www.suntimes.com/business/savage/16916016-452/edging-closer-to-the-fiscal-cliff.html