On Monday everyone will be celebrating the arrival of the New Year and keeping all of their resolutions in mind for 2013. Some of us will commit to minor lifestyle changes while all of us living in the United States will be chained to the almost inevitable free-fall off the 'Fiscal Cliff' (unless, our Executive Branch and Legislative Branch work together and set aside their differences). The only possible way to prevent the 'fiscal cliff' is through compromise and bi-partisan legislation.
What does 'fiscal cliff' mean and how did it come into existence? 'Fiscal cliff' is a notorious phrase that refers to across-the-board cuts on spending and an increase in taxation. The moment the clock strikes 12am, January 1, 2013 the Budget Control Act of 2013 (BCA) will take action. The BCA was an agreement between Chief Legislator, Barack Obama, and Congress signed in 2011 to end bickering over the height of the debt-ceiling -- the amount of money the government is permitted to borrow from itself to pay off debt -- and to organize a Supercommittee that would compromise on a deal that could decrease the deficit by over 1 trillion in the next 10 years. The entire purpose of this agreement was to force Congress to work together or drastic measures would befall.
So, what does this mean to you? Thousands of government programs will be completely cut and/or funding for these programs will be slashed. Funding important programs like education in public schools will be meager. The unemployment rate may rise and the US could ungracefully gallop into a recession.
I am hoping our nation's leaders can finally agree and set a precedent that will be easy on the people for years to come. What do you think? Will Congress and the President keep the United States from falling off the cliff? How do you think the government should resolve the deficit problem and prevent the fiscal cliff from occurring?
