I hope Obama is bluffing about a short term fix.

[Fgiriun]

Because anything remotely giving in to republicans should be consider a failure. A short term solution will also slow down economic growth and Obama should be aware of this. Especially considering the fact that it was the republicans that created this situation in the first place.
In the end one thing is sure though. These republicans will go down in history as a collection of the most horrendous and evil human beings to have set foot upon this earth.

[xxxsdesdexxx]

1. What exactly does the short-term fix include?

I might be forgetting something, or several things, but I thought it was only the following:

- Extend Bush-era tax cuts for all income below $250,000.00 for Married Couples
- Extend Bush-era tax cuts for all income below $200,000.00 for Individuals
- Extend unemployment benefits (affects 2 million Americans)
- Increase capital gains tax from 15% to 20%
- AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) Patch
- Push back Sequestration to a later date

The deal might also include raising the "Debt Ceiling" for 2 years or so


Take a look at Senate Bill 3412. [link:http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:SN03412:| This is the bill that already passed the senate and that the president keeps asking the House of Representatives to pass.

[CTyankee]

2. Thankyou for the summation. My daughter and grandson is someone who will suffer outright if

her unemployment benefits vanish, so this thing has special anguish for my family. While I understand and fully appreciate the arguments made against Obama's "offer" I cannot stand the idea of my loved ones suffering.

[Bluenorthwest]

4. Since you made separate points for under 250K 'single' and 'married couples'....the bigoted nature

of the tax code you all quarrel over is highlighted. Married (Rick Warren Approved Only) Couples....and then all the other couple who are forced by the bigoted majority to file as single, because that lie makes the straight community happy.

[customerserviceguy]

3. Right now, its all about fixing the blame

for the cliff that we're definitely going over. Boner wanted Plan B to show that he was sincere, the President is talking short term fix to show that he's sincere, etc. Time will tell who gets the ultimate blame, and each side believes it will be the other side at this point.

The President is not blameless, he signed the legislation for the sequester. Clearly, he thought the special committee would do something to avert it, but he's had a reality check since then. I hope he learned something from it. Also, two years ago with a Democratic Congress, he signed only a two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts, and didn't get a debt ceiling increase for his troubles, thus setting up the conditions that led to the sequester. I hope he learned from that, too.

Also, take note of the fact that the majority of Rethugs who were a big part of the problem are coming back in January. We lose moderates as they are primaried on both sides, and a polarized Congress with the houses in different political hands will give you gridlock.

[AAO]

5. He's playing 16-dimensional chess - don't cha know!

[Xyzse]

6. I wonder...

Can they just cancel/postpone the sequestration for now and let the tax cut lapse?
Afterwards, deal with creating a middle class tax cut and if they need to cut, well, it won't be as bad as the sequestration package.