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Flim Flam Fiscal Cliff Legislation
Congress enacted scam legislation.
by Stephen Lendman
Senate members met, debated, negotiated, passed stopgap legislation, and largely delayed deficit cutting for later.
On Tuesday, the House followed suit. Obama will sign it into law or may already have done so.
Media reports announced it. The New York Times headlined "Senate Passes Legislation to Allow Taxes on Affluent to Rise." Members voted 89-8.
The Washington Post said "Obama, Senate Republicans reach agreement on 'fiscal cliff.' "
The Wall Street Journal headlined "US Budget Compromise Deal Reached."
A New York Times editorial called it "A Tepid Fiscal Agreement." As this is written, House up or down follow-through awaits. Expect House Republicans to back strong party-line Senate support.
Speaker Boehner said "The House will honor its commitment to consider the Senate agreement if it is passed."
Doing so overwhelmingly assures support. Republicans know they have much to answer for if millions of constituents lose benefits.
Obama did what he does best. He lied. He said "this agreement is the right thing to do for our country, and the House should pass it without delay."
It will "grow the economy and shrink our deficits in a balanced way," he claimed.
It's economic effect is negative. With or without cuts, deficits will grow exponentially. Addressing them was largely left for later. Whatever's agreed will resolve nothing.
The Times called the agreement "a weak brew that remains far too generous to the rich, and fails to bring in enough revenue to deal with the nation's deep need for public investments.".
Provisions include raising personal income taxes to Clinton-era levels. Doing so affects families earning over $450,000 and individuals making more than $400,000.
