Congress charts new course for deficit
The nation’s sharp disagreements over taxes and spending are on a re-routed collision course, as Senate Democrats launch a plan that includes new taxes and House Republicans vow to speed up their plan to balance the federal budget with spending cuts alone.
Tax filing season starts Jan. 30 for most filers
The Internal Revenue Service says late changes to federal tax laws should mean only a short delay for most taxpayers to file their 2012 returns.
Talk of GOP primaries follows ‘fiscal cliff’ vote
Republicans in Congress who took the politically risky step of voting to raise taxes now find themselves trying to fend off potential primary challenges next year from angry conservatives.
Farm bill extension evidence of lost clout
A patchwork extension of federal farm programs passed as part of a larger “fiscal cliff” bill keeps the price of milk from rising but doesn’t include many of the goodies that farm-state lawmakers are used to getting for their rural districts.
Obama urges action on debt ceiling
President Barack Obama is hailing a last-minute deal that avoids the so-called fiscal cliff but says it’s just one step in a broader effort to boost the economy and shrink federal deficits.
New tax law packed with breaks for businesses
Tucked into the “fiscal cliff” tax package approved by Congress are billions of dollars in tax breaks that should make the new year a lot happier for businesses of many stripes, including film producers, race track owners and the makers of electric motorcycles.
Steady US hiring expected in December despite cliff
U.S. employers likely kept hiring last month at a modest but steady pace, despite tense negotiations that pushed the economy to the brink of the fiscal cliff.
Slimantics: No-nnelee makes a point with (your) pocketbook
Quite frankly, I expected better from Gregg Harper and Steven Palazzo, two of the three Mississippi Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Both Harper and Palazzo voted against the Tuesday legislation that prevented the fiscal cliff disaster from becoming a reality.
That the third Republican, the one who represents Lowndes County, voted no on the bill was as predictable as a two-year-old pitching a fit at the supermarket until he gets candy.
Congress reaches deal on fiscal cliff
Past its own New Year’s deadline, a weary Congress sent President Barack Obama legislation to avoid a national “fiscal cliff” of middle class tax increases and spending cuts late Tuesday night in the culmination of a struggle that strained America’s divided government to the limit.
Deal reached for stopping spike in milk prices
The top leaders in both parties on the House and Senate Agriculture committees have agreed to a one-year extension of the 2008 farm bill that expired in October, a move that could head off a possible doubling of milk prices next month.
‘Fiscal cliff’ deadline nears
The White House and Senate Republicans sorted through stubborn disputes over taxing the wealthy and cutting the budget to pay for Democratic spending proposals as Monday’s midnight deadline for an accord avoiding the “fiscal cliff” drew to within hours.
Arianna Huffington: Grow the economy by growing the debate about it
Hey, have you heard about this thing called “the fiscal cliff”? Actually, the better question is: Have you heard about anything except the fiscal cliff? Nine months ago, the term had not even entered the media lexicon. And now it’s suddenly everywhere.
Ask Rufus: How Silent the Country Is
As we approach the doom and gloom of the fiscal cliff, its repercussions are mild compared to what was happening here 150 years ago.
Senate holds last-minute fiscal cliff talks
Senate leaders groped for a last-minute compromise Saturday to avoid middle-class tax increases and possibly prevent deep spending cuts at the dawn of the new year as President Barack Obama warned that failure could mean a “self-inflicted wound to the economy.”
Miss. schools could face cuts from fiscal cliff
Mississippi schools could lose about $53.9 million in federal education money, according to a report released by the National Education Association, if Congress doesn’t stop a package of budget cuts scheduled to take place Jan. 2.
White House meeting a last stab at a fiscal deal
Amid partisan bluster, top members of Congress and President Barack Obama were holding out slim hopes for a limited fiscal deal before the new year. But even as congressional leaders prepared to convene at the White House, there were no signs that legislation palatable to both sides was taking shape.
Consumers lose confidence as cliff nears
U.S. consumers peering over the “fiscal cliff” don’t like what they see.
Fears of sharp tax increases and government spending cuts set to take effect next week sent consumer confidence tumbling in December to its lowest level since August.
From Harrop: The politics of threat
The people are sad. If holiday shopping is any measure of public mood, the joy vanished this year. The grade-school massacre depressed everyone, and now our rapid approach to the Fiscal Cliff has many scared and afraid to spend money.
Anti-tax conservatives say no to tax-increase
In the city where a protest over tax policy sparked a revolution, modern day tea party activists are cheering the recent Republican revolt in Washington that embarrassed House Speaker John Boehner and pushed the country closer to a “fiscal cliff” that forces tax increases and massive spending cuts on virtually every American.
Lawmakers see ‘fiscal cliff’ deal as elusive
With anxiety rising as the country lurches towards a “fiscal cliff,” lawmakers are increasingly skeptical about a possible deal and some predict the best possibility would be a small-scale patch because time is running out before the year-end deadline.
