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Sen. Baucus says 'no choice' but to avoid the fiscal cliff
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) at the U.S. Capitol March 2, 2011 in Washington, D.C.
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No deal yet from Washington D.C. on the fiscal cliff. Republicans continue to resist calls for higher tax rates on the wealthy. But what about Democrats? Some have already signaled what they won't change much when it comes to entitlement spending.
We decided to ask Sen. Baucus, the chairman of the Finance Committee.
"There's a lot of talk around here on both sides," Baucus says. "My view is there's no choice but to do the best we can, we've got to go forward because things have to change."
Baucus says tax rates have to be higher and if Republicans agree to compromise on that issue, he's sure Democrats and the president will compromise on entitlements.
Baucus adds, "I think we'll do it and if we don't, by the end of this year, we're going to have to regroup very aggressively the first of next year because next year, we will have then gone off the cliff."
Let's see what is different between this year's fiscal cliff/debt ceiling negotiations and last year's debt ceiling talks--hmmmm. Maybe it’s the presidential election, four (4) short weeks ago, where the President won on campaigning for this country’s top 2% tax rate go back up to Clinton levels so the country can start to pay down its debt? And he won decisively (Obama 50.9%, Romney 47.4%). “That’s a bigger (and more decisive) margin than Bush’s victory over John Kerry in 2004 (which was Bush 50.7% and Kerry 48.2%).” Maybe that is the difference? What the heck was wrong with Senator Baucus that he could not articulate these simple facts? Did he wake up from a nap just before the interview or stop by MarketWatch after hitting Happy Hour? Next time get an elected official who has a better grasp of the subject matter and not someone who just has a title. It will serve MarketWatch's reputation better.
http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/29/15540899-first-thoughts-mo...
Oh, and by the way, Bush, Republicans and the media called the 2004 win a mandate. So what do we call this year’s win?
http://mediamatters.org/research/2004/11/04/media-echoed-conservative-cl...
We went off the fiscal cliff a long time ago!!! Let it happen and start laying off the extremely overpaid taxpayer subsidized teachers, firefighters, police officers, useless bureaucrats and healthcare workers!!! It seems like all the "stimulus" is just prolonging their eventual unemployment. Join the rest of us, why don't you???
More info for you. "....it takes the average family 47 years to make as much as a hedge fund honcho makes in one hour?"
"in 2010, after the crash, the top 25 hedge fund chiefs made as much as 685,000 teachers who educate 13 million children?"
http://www.alternet.org/economy/6-economic-facts-life-america-allow-rich...
Please start blaming the right group of people and not the working stiffs.
Why didn't you include Hedge Fund Managers, Bankers and others who make over $250,000 working for organizations who received TARP bailouts and for the past 4 years have been receiving six figure bonuses. Why do you attack workers who actually work for a living every day -- most for under $100,00 (and some below 50,000 a year). People who vote for Republicans (who work for corporations, businesses and the 2%) by passing legislation to weaken and remove unions, then lose their jobs and finally are told by and believe millionaire journalists on Fox News and other media to blame people who go to work every day to take care of their families (not to get rich) need to take a long hard look at yourself. You may be your own problem.
I like how the senator kinda stamered and then answered a different question when Kai asked him what the Democrats were going to bring into the compromise. It shows that they really weren't planning on compromising at all. But that's okay because the so called fiscal cliff is he right thing to do for the debt and the long run.
