A Fiscal Cliffmas Miracle

So a deal has been reached and the US economy has averted (for now) the fiscal cliff. I don't know the terms of the deal, but let's all be certain of one thing: we may not be going over the cliff, but we're still heading into the canyon.

Our government cannot keep spending more than they're taking in, period. Furthermore, balancing the budget isn't good enough. We need drastic budget cuts to eliminate the budget deficit, produce a surplus, and start paying down the unsustainable national debt.

I'm going to say something that may destroy my credibility as a fiscal conservative: I was almost ready to go over the fiscal cliff. Don't get me wrong, I wholeheartedly believe that Washington doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. But if I thought for a second that a tax increase and mandatory budget cuts would put us on the right track, I'd fall in line, suck it up, and pay.

America is in a hole. We've already got the wealthy paying way more than a fair share. Middle class families are paying their way. Let's start getting something out of the folks who aren't kicking in anything. 47% of Americans pay no income taxes. That is an immense, untapped tax base. Let's get some cash out of them.

Anyway, maybe it's the few cups of cheer I've had this evening, but I'm rambling.

Merry Fiscal Cliffmas. God bless us, everyone.

Why Going Over the Fiscal Cliff Is Exactly What Congress and the White House Want

Most of us are hoping for a swift solution to the looming "fiscal cliff." In my opinion, you can just keep on hoping, because nobody is going to do anything to prevent it.

Let's go back. Last August, Washington was embroiled in a fight regarding the raising of the debt ceiling. As part of the legislation passed which ultimately raised the debt ceiling, automatic budget cuts were included and set to take place on January 1 of 2013 if no budget cuts could be agreed to before then.

Now I'm all for budget cuts, but there is also a key piece of legislation still yet to be sorted out: the expiration of the current AMT thresholds.

AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) was developed to make sure that wealthy taxpayers didn't benefit too much from the normal tax code and were made to pay more if their income was over a certain threshold, which has been adjusted, or "patched," to account for inflation.

If Washington fails to act on AMT, the thresholds will revert to the 2000 tax year income levels. For single filers: from $50,600 to $33,750. For married filing jointly: from $78,750 to $45,000. This means that AMT will catch a vast number of filers it was never meant to: middle class filers. Add this in with other tax increases (expiration of the Bush tax cuts that were extended in 2010, Obamacare, etc.) and American taxpayers will be toting lighter wallets in 2013.

Now, why won't Washington do anything? Because this is exactly what everyone in Congress and the White House wants to happen.

Think about it. Without action, on January 1: Americans will be paying higher taxes, budgets will be cut, and both sides of Washington will be able to point across the aisle and say it was the other side's fault. Bases will be galvanized and since we just had elections, no one in Washington will be up for reelection until 2014.

Get ready America. We're going over.

Name Change

It's the end of an era. I have made the executive decision to change the name of our beloved blog.

Truth be told, I have hated the name Beef O'Bloggy's since the moment I said it out loud over flat beers and suspect chicken fingers at Beef O'Brady's in March of this year.

Open Field Tackle came to me over coffee this morning. It's a vague, generic name which could convey, "hey, we're not afraid to tackle the issues or whatever."

What I like most about the new name is that it doesn't say what Beef O'Bloggy's did, which is, "hey, our blog name is stupid."

What can you expect as a faithful reader? The exact same sparse content under a newer, less offensive name. That's our promise to you.