Editorial: "Fiscal Cliff Costs" - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

Editorial: "Fiscal Cliff Costs"

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By Collin R. Gaston - bio | email

  • Editorials

  • Thursday, May 16 2013 7:20 PM EDT2013-05-16 23:20:04 GMT
    In my editorial on Tuesday I chided our legislators for being the last state to pass a no-brainer  bill legalizing home brewing.  Today I want to challenge them to be one of the first states to pass another no-brainer;
    In my editorial on Tuesday I chided our legislators for being the last state to pass a no-brainer  bill legalizing home brewing.  Today I want to challenge them to be one of the first states to pass another no-brainer;

  • Tuesday, May 14 2013 7:20 PM EDT2013-05-14 23:20:07 GMT
    Kudos, or perhaps, cheers to the Alabama Legislature for passing HB9, the home brewing bill. Legalized home brewing may not be up there with education reform or prison funding, but it was overdue. 
    Kudos, or perhaps, cheers to the Alabama Legislature for passing HB9, the home brewing bill. Legalized home brewing may not be up there with education reform or prison funding, but it was overdue. 

  • Thursday, May 9 2013 7:20 PM EDT2013-05-09 23:20:06 GMT
    What was the old Pan-Am gas station at the corner of Bibb and Coosa is now no longer.  Last weekend that landmark was demolished with nothing remaining where it once stood other than the outline of a foundation. What
    What was the old Pan-Am gas station at the corner of Bibb and Coosa is now no longer.  Last weekend that landmark was demolished with nothing remaining where it once stood other than the outline of a foundation. What
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MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) -

The volume on the "fiscal cliff" conversation has been steadily growing as our country marches closer and closer to the tax hikes and automatic spending cuts mandated in the self imposed Budget Control Act of 2011. Among the laws set to change at midnight on December 31st is the end of last year's temporary payroll tax cuts, the end of certain tax breaks for businesses, shifts in the alternative minimum tax and the beginning of taxes related to President Obama's health care law.

You will have less money in your pocket starting in January if our economy rolls over the "cliff."  Case in point, the 2011 median HH income in Alabama was $41,415.  Using analysis by the Tax Policy Center the combined tax bill for federal income and Social Security taxes would go from $3,672 "pre-cliff" to $5,135 "post-cliff."  This is an extra $1,462 or $121 dollars a month out of Alabamians paychecks.  Got your attention?

"Over the cliff" costs will not only be monetary, they will be perceptual for our entire Country.  The world is again standing witness to our leaders in Washington bickering and posturing in a partisan standoff each side apparently willing to defend their position to the bitter end as our economy is on pause.  This is not leading by example in any stretch of the imagination.

This is a historical moment for our leaders that will not only determine the near-future of taxes and entitlements like Medicare and social security, but an opportunity to finally set a course towards reducing, in significant way, our country's $16+ trillion national debt.  It's time to "right the ship."     

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