Obama wins, driving toward fiscal cliff

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
11/8/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

No time to rest, a global financial crisis is imminent.

President Obama faces a significant challenge once the celebrations of his reelection come to an end. Faced with a divided Congress and a history of gridlock, Obama must reckon with a looming financial crisis. Referred to as the "fiscal cliff" the crisis involves tax increases and deep cuts to important programs that he accepted in order to raise the national debt ceiling almost two years ago.

Disaster looms unless Obama changes course.

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WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - just as the nation is showing signs of economic recovery, a series of tax increases and spending cuts are due to arrive in January. Barring any agreement in Congress, the tax increases as well as cuts, are automatic.

The fiscal cliff as it is called involves some $600 billion which will be removed from the economy if a deal cannot be reached. The economic impact of the fiscal cliff is so significant that leaders in other countries are already working on what steps they can take to insulate their economies.

Naturally, most people around the world, and most Americans in particular, hope that a deal can be struck.

Tax increases are certainly in the offing, no matter what. President Obama has pledged new taxes of Americans earning more than $250,000 per year. In addition to new taxes, which always have a chilling effect on any economy, a number of entitlement programs, including Medicare, will see cuts.

Experts in Washington have warned the President that going over the fiscal cliff could cost 2 million American jobs.

Already, investors are pessimistic, taking steps to protect their investments should the President fail. They have reason to be pessimistic too. Despite the elections, Congress remains politically divided with Republicans controlling the House and pledging to block tax increases.

Within days, President Obama is expected to start work on the issue, meeting with key officials. Between now and January, the world will watch with bated breath as party leaders try to hammer out a solution to the debt crisis that threatens to set back the U.S. economy.

If they fail, the Great Recession could become much deeper and longer than many ever thought possible.

� 2012, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Obama, fiscal cliff, crisis, debt, taxes, cuts

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1 - 6 of 6 Comments

Mathew Thankachen O.Praem
7 months ago
There is something in President Obama the world appreciates- his eloquence, his vivacity, candor, simplicity, tolerance and his syllogism to comprehend the world affairs from his political and economic perspective. His affable personality is scaled down by his own dexterity in the 'unholy mixing' of ' moral values ' with ' pragmatic politics', leading to capture of " vote banks" which in the long run, might not be good for the democrats, for the very etymology of 'Democracy' gradually gets rid of its backbone viz. individual interpretation of liberty, ultimately leading to " autocrat ism" in every individual citizen. of course, Obama leaves 'practice of morality' in the private forum while he is legalizing the same in the public forum like Health insurance scheme and in hospitals, education etc. of course, 'participative economy' will be the only choice left from international arena, nevertheless ' growing together' rather than 'plundering' from war or weapon export. Had he ever practiced the immoral values he implicitly support for others, he wouldn't have either wife or children.It is no wonder, in a society divorce is common, spirituality and morality get divorced from political draftsmanship. Such moral degradation is spreading like a contagious disease to Asia and Africa as they look upon the West and the US the so called " employment of Democracy and Freedom" until they are trapped on the very whirlpool of freedom. Re defining " responsible freedom" from Lazes fare is the only panacea to strengthen true democracy and a healthy social, family and Ecclesiastic life.
missmarie
7 months ago
I am a Catholic conservative woman. I live a simple life. I've worked since I was 16. I've tried to do the right thing, and have failed....often. Thankfully, I have learned a lot on my way to now 50 years old and doing the right things comes a little easier for me. One of the many lessons I've learned is simple math. Our current debt exceeds our GDP. 1/3 of our citizens are supporting the other 2/3 for various reasons. The promises made by government to "take care" of us is unsustainable. The promises made by God, that if you live for Him, if you work hard at doing the right thing, that you teach your children about His love, and help neighbors when they need it is very sustainable. In the US and countries around the globe, we have handed the role of God to government - to take care of us, to set the moral directive, to confiscate our hard work to give to others who may or may not be deserving or appreciative of such a gift. How's that working out for us? When left to God, He inspires us to work hard, we receive rewards for our hard work, then He guides us to provide assistance to others. When left to government, the bounty He provides us is spread amongst many He may have chosen not to help until they have done a little soul searching and a little struggling, thus allowing His spirit to change their hearts and minds. We are losing the option to obey His will as the bounty He most generously provides is now being funneled directly through government, we are losing the opportunity to grow in faith and love for one another by cutting this step out of our every day lives and handing it over to government, and our fellow citizens are losing their opportunity to know Him through their struggles. Spending big bucks on social assistance programs for decades has not only bankrupted us fiscally, but morally as well. Traditional families are scarce, immoral behavior is the new norm, more people are living in poverty, and less people are running to God. It is very sad, indeed.
Robert Burford
7 months ago
The same fiscal cliff would be there no matter who won the election. Sooner or later we will have to face the trade off of "guns or butter". Do we continue to have military presence in the middle east, far east, Europe or do we build roads, bridges, schools? How do we treat our immigrants legal and illegal ? If we are looking for answers, we need to look to ourselves and local communities. Do no put your faith in earthly princes . Our federal government is in grid lock. We need to seek local answers and maybe the leaders in Washington will follow.
vance
7 months ago
The Fiscal Cliff is a guaranteed fact that's going to hit us. Obama and the Party of Death and Deceit want America to go over the cliff. Why? Because this is the way to "Transforming" the country to socialism.
Marie
7 months ago
I pray to God we do not have to learn the hard way, But abortion is the killing of unborn babies and an intrinstic evil.
Brandt Hardin
7 months ago
Will we ever see bipartisan politics in our country again? The fringe element within the Republican Party has pushed them all to the far right of the isle where they’ve gridlocked our government for two years now. Will the next two be any different? They’ve been very public about their main goal being to block and bamboozle the President’s every move. It takes many hands to paint the Blackface on Obama. See my visual report of his makeup session at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2012/10/bamboozling-obama.html

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