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Image provided by: Hobart and William Smith Colleges
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2012 News Jumping off the Fiscal Cliff By Amanda Smith'15 Herald Contributor Photo Courtesy of floppinggluces.net. The United States' \fiscal cliff'- a popular term that has resurfaced in the past couple of months - refers to the effect that could be felt if certain tax cut~ and government spending expire on Dec. 31, 2012 as planned. Those tax cuts and breaks that are scheduled to end as of midnight Dec. 31 include this year's temporary payroll cuts, certain tax breaks for small businesses, and the Bush tax cuts from 2001-2003. At the same time the United States is scheduled to see a dramatic increase in taxes related to funding President Obama's healthcare bill while spending on many other government services such as Medicare and defense will decrease, as agreed upon in the debt ceiling deal of 2011. The American people, when faced with this deadline, are inclined to ask, so what? This is Congress' problem, right? Wrong. This is a . very real problem and its effects will be felt in very immediate ways. A report published Oct. 1 by the Tax Policy Center, a group that prides · itself on providing \independent analyses of current and emerging tax policy issues,\ predicts that, if these developments aren't dealt with, taxes will rise by more than $500 billion and estimates that nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population can expect to pay more. So what impact will this have on individual households? Reports from the TaX: Policy Center indicate that, on average, middle-income. families can expect to pay $2,000 more in taxes in the year 2013 if these changes occur. This continued failure to act on the part of Congress is being Photo Courtesy ofeuropezfr. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. called a perfect storm of legislative changes that could not only be a detriment to individual householqs, but also dramatically affect our economy as a whole. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has reported that the fiscal tightening in 2013 will result in both a 0.5 percent drop in real GDP as well as an increase in unemployment to 9.1 percent by the end of the year. Some individuals in favor of more stringent taxation claim that these changes, though difficult to swallow in the short-term, would serve the nation as a whole. Any fiscal tightening enacted by Congress, they assert, will begin to cut the budget deficits and could shrink our national debt. In fact, according to the CBO, by 2022-if the fiscal cliff isn't addressed and these tax policies are implemented-the federal budget deficit could fall to $200 billion, a dramatic fall from its current level of $1.1 trillion. Both parties in Congress, with Dec. 31 edging closer, may have to , come to com promise and extend some of the tax cut policies, while still . denying others. It's possible, given the past obstinance of the GOP- controlled House, that they may in fact be homogenously reinstated- what Congress will ultimately choose to do in regard to these changes remains to be seen. Whatever their collective decision regarding . these tax policies, however, given the realities that our nation faces, it's increasingly important-if not paramount-that some decision is reached in avoidance of their total ex]liration. My Way or the Highway: Egyptian Democracy in Question The current president of Egypt; President Mohamed Morsi, has divided the country yet again. After the protests two years ago overthrew the autocratic and heavily corrupt regime of the then president Hosni, Murabak Morsi became the nation's first democratically elected president. However, his recent move, described as a power grab, has split the judges of Egpyt into two parties. Morsi passed an edict in late November granting him the power to have his decisions immune from judicial review, leaving no checks or balances in place to stop him. By Aislinn Raftis '15 Managing Editor Following the split of the· judges between those who support the edict, those who do not and those who refuse to grant it legitimacy, the country's population also divided with Muslims supporting Morsi's edicts. Morsi is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a popular Islamic organization with many members in Egypt, and critics claim that his regime is religiously biased and will only cause further dissatisfaction among non-Muslims. The Nov. 27 night following the announcement of the edict, protestors stormed Tahrir Square to oppose the sweeping new powers Morsi granted himself as well as the religious divides that further polarize Egypt. Once again it is the. youth of Egypt leading the protests, but they have allies in the judges whose political powers have been removed and human rights organizations who oppose the extent and range of power the edict grants to Morsi. Yet Morsi claims that his edict was necessary to keep safe the political gains Egypt experienced from the previous uprisings. The situation continues to unfold. 1, 7
