Fiscal Cliff Talks Center on $2 Trillion Proposal [View all]

[democrattotheend]

Source: Political Wire/CNN/WSJ

President Obama and House Speaker Boehner "are discussing a $2 trillion framework on a deal to avert the fiscal cliff, that would include roughly a trillion in tax increases and roughly a trillion in savings from entitlement programs," CNN reports.

"Boehner and the president met in person on Monday, but sources familiar with the talks indicate that the framework under discussion is what Republicans are pushing to get to agreement, but it's unclear whether the make up of the $2 trillion framework could get support from Democrats."

Wall Street Journal: "While the White House objected to major parts of the proposal, senior Democrats described it as a tipping point that moves talks away from deadlock. Instead, it cleared the way for both sides to engage in nitty-gritty haggling over exactly where the new income threshold might be set and what should comprise the spending cuts."

Read more: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/12/17/fiscal_cliff_talks_center_on_2_trillion_proposal.html

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No good, IMO. The $1 trillion in revenue is OK depending on how it is structured (the president upped it to $1.6 trillion in his initial offer to start out from a high bargaining position; we never expected to actually get it). But $1 trillion in cuts is bad...way too much. They already cut $1 trillion last year, which means they probably got most of the low-hanging fruit. I don't see how you cut $1 trillion w/o seriously hurting the most vulnerable populations.

It looks like it's far from a done deal...WSJ says the White House is pushing back on major parts of the proposal. But we need to keep the pressure up, and not just regarding Social Security and Medicare. There are a lot of other important programs, such as food stamps and LIHEAP, that could be on the chopping block. Medicaid not so much, according to an article I read last week, but doesn't hurt to be vigilant.