Tax Cuts

RE: "LESSON of Obama's re-election" (Christine Flowers column, Nov. 9). I find it appalling that you invoke the "Civil War" when it comes to your "enmity. " Your enmity should be directed at the mountain of misinformation some conservative operatives put out there. Your enmity should be directed at Mitt and his blatant pandering and pretentious platform. Your enmity should be at the plethora of frivolous news stories such as "birtherism" and the "Benghazi conspiracy" that only amounted to smoke and mirrors against the real issues America faces.

Now that the election is over, it is time to get back to reality. Unfortunately, that means Congress and President Obama need to address the biggest threat to growth, the "fiscal cliff. " This is a loaded pistol pointed at the head of the economy, and if it goes off, we could be facing another recession. So, what is the fiscal cliff? In order to get Congress to agree to a simple increase in the debt ceiling in the summer of 2011, a bill was passed that mandated the formation of a congressional "super committee" to come up with a proposal to cut the deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years.

WASHINGTON - An economic calamity looming, President Obama on Friday signaled willingness to compromise with Republicans, declaring he was not "wedded to every detail" of his tax-and-spending approach to prevent deep and widespread pain in the new year. But he insisted his reelection gave him a mandate to raise taxes on wealthier Americans. "The majority of Americans agree with my approach," said Obama, brimming with apparent confidence in his first White House statement since securing a second term.

NEW YORK - Stocks pared losses Friday as investors took encouragement about the economy from a report by the University of Michigan showing that consumer confidence rose more than expected in November. The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 4.07 points at 12,815.39. The S&P advanced 2.34 points to 1,379.85, and the Nasdaq composite gained 9.29 points to 9,204.87. But the stock market finished one of the worst weeks of the year, pushing Washington to work out a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" - the tax increases and government spending cuts set to take effect Jan. 1. For the week, the Dow fell 277 points, or 2.1 percent.

WASHINGTON - Austere "fiscal cliff" tax increases and spending cuts set for the end of the year would send the economy back into recession and cause a spike in the jobless rate to 9.1 percent if lame-duck lawmakers and the White House can't head them off, congressional budget experts said in a dire analysis Thursday. The tax-and-spending changes, which Congress will dig into next week, would cut the federal deficit by $503 billion through next September, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office report.

OK, KIDS, here's where we are. And I mean realistically. Tuesday's result won't directly alter your life - if you're well-off, healthy, securely employed and never in need of government services - but it could alter the direction of the nation, with heavy emphasis on the word "could. " The so-tight race suggests that Mitt Romney can unseat President Obama and, potentially, put the country on a path toward smaller government, less spending and lower taxes. Forgive my qualifier, "potentially.

Taxes and uncertainty. Those words sum up one of the biggest worries facing small-business owners. With the scheduled Dec. 31 expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts, many people who run small companies don't know how much they'll be paying in taxes in 2013. And many say that's why they have put off plans to hire and expand. Compounding the uncertainty is that the outcome of the presidential and congressional elections is far from clear. President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have different ideas about tax policy, and it's hard to say whether Congress will act to stop the cuts from taking place.

Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying: "In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes. " That might be true, but few people like to pay taxes, so we do everything possible to escape them. Tax reform might be the hottest political issue, and it will heat up even more after Tuesday's election. Most of us cannot afford the best tax lawyers to scour every nook and cranny of the tax code to ensure we pay the least amount possible, so we demand tax breaks through the ballot box. That raises the question: "What taxes should be cut?"

TWO YEARS AGO, Gov. Ed Rendell excoriated the NFL for postponing the Iggles-Vikings game because of bad weather. "I think we've become wussies," said the then-governor. Imagine if Sunday's Iggles-Falcons game was cancelled because of Sandy. Even if the winds were so strong that the players were being tossed around like toy soldiers and fans were being hit by flying officials, Rendell would still expect that the game be played. Frankenstorm? We could be seeing a new trend in hurricane names.

The White House is weighing the idea of a tax cut that it believes would lift Americans' take-home pay and boost a still-struggling economy, according to people familiar with the administration's thinking, as the presidential candidates continue battling over whose tax policies would do more for the country. Obama administration officials have concluded that the economy, while improved, is still fragile enough that it may need another bout of stimulus. The tax cut could replace the payroll tax cut championed by President Obama in 2011 and 2012, which was designed as a buffer against economic shocks such as the financial crisis in Europe and high oil prices.