Boehner Gains Strong Backing From House Republicans

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
Published: December 5, 2012

WASHINGTON — With a daunting fiscal crisis looming and conservatives outside the House torching him at every turn, Speaker John A. Boehner might be assumed to have a shaky hold on his gavel. Instead, it appears he is enjoying the broadest support of his tumultuous two-year speakership from House Republicans

As Mr. Boehner digs in for a tense fiscal confrontation with President Obama, the strong embrace from a broad spectrum of the rank and file may empower him as he tries to strike a deal on spending cuts and tax increases that spares the country a recession, without costing Republicans too much in terms of political principle.

¶With the election results ensuring another four years with an empowered adversary in the White House, and a growing docket of polls that show voters ready to blame Republicans for a failure to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, many House Republicans appear to view Mr. Boehner with the same sort of respect that adult children award their parents for the sage counsel they ignored in their younger days

rest of the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/us/politics/boehner-gains-strong-backing-of-house-gop.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0#h[]

The same sort of respect?

Whether or not you agree with the GOP, you have to admire their tenaciousness with regard to the fiscal cliff. They're going to the mat with regard to their beliefs.

It's going to be interesting..................


In reality, the points for which the two factions are arguing over are relatively insignificant in terms of the deficit. Neither wants to actually address the problem which requires some massive spending cuts together with a tax increase for everybody, unfortunately.

$100 Billion is a blip compared to a $16 Trillion debt with foreseeable $ Trillion deficits. 0.625% if my math is correct. Unless the Dems and Reps can agree to less.

Sad but true. Keep kicking that can.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

The trick is to keep the economy improving. Doing anything that upsets consumer confidence will hurt the economy. They need to agree to something and move on.

Or go over the cliff. The suspense is killing me.

Not really.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

We need annual growth in the 4.0+ % range to even start to turn things around. When will that begin?
Till then, we still sink, but less quickly.

"We're cutting the deficit" Whoa Nellie. BFD.
"We''re adding 1.6 trillion in new revenues over 10 years." BFD. 160 billion a year? Halleluhiah! ( Oh wait, you want more stimulus spending ? So, were' not gonna get 160 billion in deficit reduction next year? )

If no deal is reached, come 1/1/13 lower & middle class wage earners get a double whammy. Higher old tax rates restored and the 2% FICA holiday expires. Why should the middle class get a pass. Everyone who has skin in the game should pay more.
Having already stuck the "rich" with the 3.8 %medicare tax on NII and the 0.9% additional medicare tax on earned income the president says no deal without more taxes...another 3.6% on the "rich"

Fiscal and tax policy in this county is a joke.

Boners head on a pike and the old goat Mcconnel hung up and gutted/quartered . for the buzzards.

I have an idea: Let's just kill off the top 2% and seize all of their assets.

Quit ****** around.

Can not collect $1, and spend $1.40

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

The nation has been doing so for 40 years. Why stop now?

That would fund the spending for what a month or two? Then whose money do we steal to feed the monster?

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

The next top 2%.

Negative growth.

European Markets Held Gains After Central Bank Decisions


The central bank of 17 nations held the refinancing rate unchanged at 0.75 percent for a fifth successive month in December following the Governing Council meeting in Frankfurt on Thursday. The decision was in line with economists' expectations.

The European Central Bank on Thursday slashed the growth outlook for the 17-nation economy for this year and next, and unveiled its first projection for 2014 that showed a recovery in the currency-bloc.

The latest Eurosystem staff macroeconomic projections show annual real GDP growth in a range between -0.6 percent and -0.4 percent for 2012. This means the mid-point was lowered to -0.5 percent from -0.4 percent seen in September.

GDP growth is seen between -0.9 percent and 0.3 percent for 2013. This compares to -0.4 percent and 1.4 percent predicted three months ago. The economy is expected to recover in 2014 with GDP expansion seen between 0.2% and 2.2% that year.

The Bank of England kept the size of stimulus unchanged at the final policy meeting of the year even though the economic prospects dimmed and the government austerity is set to continue for a longer period.

The Monetary Policy Committee headed by Mervyn King today maintained its quantitative easing at GBP 375 billion. The central bank fully utilized the previous GBP 50 billion-increase initiated in July. The nine-member committee also left the interest rates unchanged at 0.50 percent, the lowest level since the bank was established in 1694. The rate has not been changed since early 2009.

European nations are unlikely to finalize a bank supervision framework this year, European Central Bank Executive Board member Jorg Asmussen reportedly said Wednesday. His remarks came a day after an attempt by European Union leaders to strike a deal on a single supervisor for euro area banks failed, largely due to rift between France and Germany.

"I think that we can establish the legal framework relatively quickly, but we are slipping automatically into next year," reports said quoting Asmussen, participating in a panel discussion.

Standard and Poor's on Wednesday lowered the credit rating on Greece to 'selective default' (SD) from 'CCC', days after the country announced a debt buyback plan to rid the country of its mounting debt.

S&P said the decision follows the Greek government's invitation to private sector bondholders on December 3 to participate in a series of debt buyback auctions. Under S&P's criteria, this move amounted to a 'selective default.'

and then the next 2% etc.

Sounds like the story of the farmer who did not want ALL the farms in the valley--just the one next to his farm. Like a "do" loop with no exit parameter.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Dang I thought this was going to be a Lee Majors thread.

Boehner reportedly pitches millionaire tax increase

By JIM KUHNHENN
The Associated Press



WASHINGTON — Signaling new movement in "fiscal cliff" talks, House Speaker John Boehner has proposed raising the top rate for earners making more than $1 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said.

President Obama, who wants higher top rates for households earning more than $250,000, has not accepted the offer, this person said.

The offer, made in a phone call Friday between the two leaders, marked the first time Boehner has entertained an increase in income-tax rates.

The proposal, however, indicated progress in talks that had appeared stalled. The person discussed the plan on condition of anonymity.

As part of a broader budget deal, Boehner is seeking more spending cuts than Obama has proposed, particularly in mandatory health-care spending. Boehner has asked for a long-term increase in the eligibility age for Medicare and for lower cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security.

Boehner's tax proposal was first reported by Politico.

Brendan Buck, Boehner's spokesman, declined to comment on the offer. "We have not commented on the content of private discussions, and we're certainly not going to comment on rumors," he said.

At issue are expiring tax rates that would automatically increase Jan. 1 for virtually every income-tax payer if Congress and the president don't act. Steep budget cuts are also scheduled to kick in, unless Congress and Obama agree to forestall them with other deficit-reduction measures.

Obama has insisted on extending current rates for the 98 percent of taxpayers in households that earn less than $250,000. He would let the top two marginal rates increase from 33 to 35 percent and from 36 to 39.6 percent for those taxpayers making more than that the threshold.

Until now, Boehner had maintained his opposition to raising any tax rates. Instead, he had proposed to raise as much as $800 billion in tax revenue over 10 years by limiting tax loopholes and deductions as part of a broader tax overhaul.

But the speaker and House Republicans have come under increasing pressure from a number of Senate Republicans who say they should yield to Obama's demand on tax rates and then press him for additional cuts early next year in exchange for an increase in the nation's borrowing limit.

Obama has proposed about $600 billion in spending reductions over 10 years, including about $350 billion in Medicare and other health-care savings. But he has also proposed about $200 billion in additional spending, including aid to the unemployed and to struggling homeowners and for public-works projects.

The incoming House Rules Committee chairman, Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, said Friday that congressional Republicans would be willing to accept an increase in tax rates for top earners if Democrats make significant reductions in entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

"If it's a good deal, yes," Sessions, a close Boehner ally, said on Bloomberg Television's "Political Capital With Al Hunt."


from: http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2019913018_fiscal16.html