Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The bill eases portions of the so-called "fiscal cliff."
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a deal late Tuesday to ease portions of the so-called "fiscal cliff," according to the Huffington Post. How did our local representative in Congress vote? Rep. John Tierney (D-Salem) voted for it, saying that while the bill was "imperfect," it was an important "first step" toward ensuring millions of taxpayers and small businesses didn't face historic tax hikes. The compromise was approved by the Senate at 2 a.m. Tuesday, and despite talk of rejecting it, the House ultimately passed the bill by a vote of 257 to 167. U.S. Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Scott Brown (R-MA), both supported the measure in the Senate. “President Obama and the Senate came to an agreement on a deal to prevent the country …
Thursday, December 27, 2012
President, Congress have just a few days to avert automatic tax increases and spending cuts. A number of Massachusetts Congressman suggest cutting nuclear programs instead.
Starbucks baristas are writing "come together" on all cups in the Washington, DC, area to encourage Congress and the President to come together to fix the fiscal cliff issue. For more information about this initiative, go to www.patch.com/fixthedebt. Congress and President Obama are racing against the clock this week as they make one last attempt to hammer out a deal to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff” the U.S. government is set to go over on New Year’s Day. Without a compromise deal to lower the deficit, the government will face a self-imposed deadline that triggers both spending cuts and higher taxes. Congress itself set the Jan. 1 deadline after failing to come to a budget compromise earlier this year. On Jan. 1, the George W. Bush-…
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Massachusetts Democrats in Congress want to avoid cuts in benefits as part of any deal, but proposals such as raising the eligibility age for Medicare are still on the table. What would you do?
As Congress negotiates a deal to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" on Jan. 1, Massachusetts' congressional representatives have voiced their opposition to any cuts in benefits such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the Boston Globe reports. However, there are proposals still on the table that would change those benefit programs, including linking Social Security benefits to a more conservative inflation index that would slightly reduce annual increases, or raising the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 67. The Globe reported that while the Bay State's legislators were united against changes to Social Security, there's some wiggle room on Medicare. Rep. Ed Markey opposes raising the Medicare eligibility age; Rep. Michael …
Saber Walsh
1:53 pm on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
"Meanwhile, millionaires and billionaires will pay their fair share." - John Tierney, 2012 "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." - Karl Marx, 1875 more ›