OPINION

Tick, Tock…Taxmaggedon

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The countdown has started and before we all know it we will be hit with a $494 billion dollar tax increase. 

If the world doesn’t end on December 21st according to the Mayan calendar, we are facing another catastrophe, Taxmageddon

With a blatant disregard for working toward solving the problem, Congress is just going on its merry way, ignoring the cliff we are heading towards at 100 miles per hour.  It is so obvious that we are dealing with a group of people in Washington that is only looking out for themselves and their jobs.  All but a very few of them want to vote or pass anything that will put them on the record.  They are too cowardly to make a decision before the November elections for fear of turning off voters and losing their jobs.

When did making decisions for the good of the American people become secondary to Congress holding onto their jobs?  Was this the original intent of the Founding Fathers?  I don’t think so.  I don’t know about you, but term limits should be discussed tout de suite!  If they continue with this stalemate and inaction and do nothing to resolve these tax increases, we should seriously consider cleaning house once again.  We did it in 2010, we can do it again.  And we keep doing it until they listen. I know there are good men and women in Congress who are fighting to do the right thing, but obviously they are outnumbered and are being over-ruled by the majority leaders.  They work for us!  Not the other way around.  We Americans need to keep reminding ourselves of that fact.



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Taxmaggedon falls primarily on mid and low income families because 60 percent of the Bush tax cuts went to them.  With the expiration of the Alternative Minimum Tax patch and the payroll tax cut, this group will be hit the hardest.  Families will see an average tax increase of $4,138, and low income taxpayers can expect a $1,207 increase.  This is at a time when gas prices are hitting $4 in most places and higher than that in others, unemployment is still over 8% if you are ignoring the real numbers, and many people are struggling to keep their heads above water.

This isn’t helped by the fact that Bernanke just cranked up the printing press another notch to pump billions into the economy.  Wait until that bubble bursts.  Hello higher interest rates and inflation.  As a result of his QE3, we were downgraded once again by Egan-Jones to AA-.

I haven’t even mentioned the costs for Obamacare that will begin to eat away at whatever pennies you may have left over from your paycheck or your investments.  Five of the eighteen new tax hikes will kick in for that travesty.

Not only are taxes scheduled to go up, but we have massive spending cuts of around $1.2 trillion because agreement couldn’t be reached.  Many in Washington are screaming about defense cuts, cuts to Medicare, cuts to universities for government grants and the list goes on and on. 

Businesses don’t know what to do.  Do they hire, do they not?  Do they downsize? What will the costs be for all of this?  How does anyone estimate their future when there are no guidelines?  No one knows how to prepare for this coming disaster, neither business nor average person.

More than likely this problem will be kicked down the road and left to the next administration and Congress to deal with.  But by that time it will be too late.  If people don’t see a clear picture in the next couple of months, it will begin to affect the stock market and everyone will start to bail. Eventually, if things stay the course, (meaning another “four years”), we will all be sending the IRS IOU’s because not only will they have taken everything that we earn, but they will be sending us a bill to pay the interest on the debt we owe to China! 

It’s pathetic that our so-called elected officials have led us to this fiscal cliff.  It’s up to us now to pull the emergency brake and stop this runaway train before it goes over.

 

Morgan Brittany

Politichicks.tv

@MorganBrittany4