Blackburn Rovers

Well ahead of US President Barack Obama’s January 20th re-inauguration there is no time to waste in talks with Congress. Lawmakers and the White House need to agree on a sustainable fiscal path, to tackle the budget deficit. The Treasury said this had increased last month to $120 billion, up from $98 billion 12 months ago. The country is perched on what is described as a ‘fiscal cliff’. This is the feared effect of Bush-era tax cuts ... more 

Well ahead of US President Barack Obama’s January 20th re-inauguration there is no time to waste in talks with Congress. Lawmakers and the White House need to agree on a sustainable fiscal path, to tackle the budget deficit. The Treasury said this had increased last month to $120 billion, up from $98 billion 12 months ago. The country is perched on what is described as a ‘fiscal cliff’. This is the feared effect of Bush-era tax cuts expiring, combined with across-the-board spending cuts. These factors together are projected to suck 600 billion dollars out of the economy starting early in 2013. If there is no deal, the country’s GDP could contract by half a percent, rather than grow by two percent as forecast otherwise. The jobless rate it’s feared could rise above nine percent from below eight percent now. The president has reportedly repeated a campaign promise to raise taxes on the wealthiest and hold tax rates down for those earning under $250,000 per year. The Republicans don’t want the taxes of the rich to go up. Both sides have sounded conciliatory notes but are still far from an agreement. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said: “The country has an extraordinary difficult set of challenges facing us over the next couple of months. The election is behind us and we are ready to get started.” Yet significant uncertainty remains over the form and timing of a fiscal cliff deal. Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn said: “I think that what we less