The Fiscal Cliff - Can It Be Avoided?

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There is lots of information out there on the web that will give you an idea as to whether or not the Fiscal Cliff will be avoided. The President is doing everything he can to get the Republicans to accept the fact that taxes on the rich have to become a reality, or is he?

As stated in a 'CNNMoney' article, it's just too early to know what truly is going to happen, and for the people who depend on the Congressional leaders to create laws that will benefit everyone, it's very obvious to all the people that Congress is now set to continue in performing in their 'do-nothing' ways.

All they seem to do is argue about everything, and when things get difficult for making real concrete decisions, permanent ones that they will have to stand by, they just seem to give up, and take a recess, or go on vacation. How is it that this governing body can just leave their unfinished work behind and just decide to go on vacation and in other words say 'to hell with it' or 'we'll vote on it when we come back' knowing full well when they come back after eating their thanksgiving turkey or their Christmas traditional dinner, that they will not be any further than before they left.

I'm not saying that the Democrats or the Republicans do not want to deal together, but our Democracy demands that something come out for the benefit of the people and the lawmakers of the country are ultimately responsible for what happens. The President alone cannot make the laws himself. He depends on that Congressional governing body to approve of the laws that he signs into law with a simple stroke of a pen.

Recently he has attended a White House meeting with the media, and has explained that the fiscal cliff can be easily avoided with the stroke of a pen he was sporting at the meeting. In the past just a few years ago, the President renewed the Bush tax cuts which was just a temporary measure, but now it's time for a permanent law to take effect so that Americans are not constantly burdened or put in a constant state of panic when it comes to tax hikes.

Nevertheless, the lawmakers seem bent in doing nothing, and the following are the reasons as stated in a 'CNNMoney' article as to “why the fiscal cliff won't get resolved easily.”

1. President Obama insists on a tax rate increase on those earning $250,000 or more, and House Republicans balk.
2. President Obama and Democrats refuse to accept revenue increases that won't be scored by the Congressional Budget Office -- i.e. that depend upon tax reform and/or upon an assumed increase in economic growth.
3. Republicans won't accept another extension of the temporary 2% payroll tax cut for working Americans. So President Obama may insist on a Making Work Pay tax credit much like the one from the 2009 stimulus package. That credit was worth up to $400 for single workers earning less than $95,000 and up to $800 for married couples making less than $190,000.
4. House Republicans insist on entitlement cuts that Senate Democrats won't accept. Senate Democrats see Social Security as completely off the table, and Medicare cuts will be difficult to achieve because most of the easier ones were used to pay for health care reform.
5. Everyone wants to repeal the $109 billion sequester of defense and non-defense spending, but Republicans may object if it's not "paid for."
6. Democrats want bigger defense cuts than Republicans will accept.
7. Discretionary spending can be shaved a bit more, but not much more without incurring Democratic opposition.

8. Republicans may refuse to accept a debt ceiling increase that is not "paid for." A one-year hike would cost about $1.2 trillion. There's no way they could pay for that.