Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The agreement reached between the White House and Congress doesn't address spending cuts and leaves another potential debt limit showdown on the table. It also increases taxes on income over $400,000. Is this a deal that works for you?
After a marathon holiday negotiation session, after grumbling by liberal senators and after a near-revolt by conservative representatives, the fiscal cliff deal was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives late Tuesday night. The bargain will increase taxes on income above $450,000 for families, increase capital gains taxes, permanently fix the alternative minimum tax, change the estate tax and provide some changes in deductions. It also will extend unemployment benefits, earned income tax credits and other tax breaks for the working class. The Washington Post has a cheat sheet with all of the details. Middle class taxpayers will still see a smaller paycheck in 2013; The payroll tax cut was not preserved as part of the fiscal cliff …
Thursday, December 20, 2012
The topic was discussed during Tuesday's meeting, along with challenges faced by Governor Patrick's recently announced 9c cuts.
As Washington politicians continue to debate the fiscal cliff, their decisions may have an impact on Chelmsford if the Tuesday’s School Committee meeting was any indication. Chelmsford School Superintendent Frank Tiano and Business Manager Kathy McWilliams informed the board that the potential of the fiscal cliff could add to recent 9c cuts made by Governor Patrick that will take away $118,000 in circuit breaker money and $28,000 in money for transportation of homeless students. While McWilliams indicated that the money for homeless transportation was never provided from the state, the circuit breaker money would be significant, and that amount could rise to approximately $200,000 in various grants and funding if the fiscal cliff …
Friday, December 7, 2012
Patrick announced the budget adjustments Tuesday.
In anticipation of the “fiscal cliff” combined with projected tax revenues that are more than half a billion dollars lower than previously expected, Gov. Deval Patrick released a revised budget designed to deal with the gap Tuesday. “The uncertainty of the fiscal cliff and the resulting slow down in growth, is the direct cause of our budget challenges,” Patrick said. “Congress and the President must come to terms on a solution so the private sector will continue to make the kind of investments that create jobs, grow state and federal tax revenue collections and contribute to a lasting economic recovery." The state is now expecting to bring in roughly 21.5 billion in tax revenue, and Patrick's plan to bridge the gap between this amount and…
Friday, November 30, 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 …
Tyler Jozefowicz
5:14 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Viv: It's not about you , dear. Country First. Need to make up for those 2 wars for 2 trillion and the WMDs, all paid for on the charge card. And you thought there was a free lunch somewhere. more ›