Thursday, February 28, 2013
Is the sequester the right approach to cutting spending?
A series of federal budget cuts, more commonly known as the "sequester,’ will automatically kick in on tomorrow; these cuts are the result of the "fiscal cliff" crisis last year. While the focus in the media will likely be the political blame game between Congress and the president, state and local governments will have to look past the politics and examine what the impact of the sequester will actually be. Is the sequester the right approach to cutting spending? Everyone has their own opinion, but I thought it might be helpful to look at some of the actual cuts we will be facing in Pennsylvania come March 1. These numbers reflect the cuts for 2013 only—the number obviously gets larger if the cuts stay in effect longer. These are just some…
Thursday, January 3, 2013
The maximum number of benefit weeks that an eligible unemployed worker in Pennsylvania can receive remains at 63.
The federal "fiscal cliff" agreement pushed back the end date for existing federal Unemployment Compensation extensions to January 1, 2014. State officials say they encourage those eligible for extensions to continue to file biweekly claims as usual. At the state level, Rep. Jesse White, D-Cecil, said many constituents were hanging on news of a federal deal. “My office has fielded numerous calls about unemployment compensation issues,” he said. “Even as we do everything we can to put people back to work and dig ourselves out of the recession, we want to ensure that residents can make use of this system as they get back on their feet.” The maximum number of benefit weeks that an eligible unemployed worker in Pennsylvania can receive …
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Some lawmakers are in Washington, DC this weekend, trying to hammer out a last-minute deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, but if they don't, average citizens might feel the impact.
Our nation is less than two days from going over the "fiscal cliff"—and the compromise clock is ticking loudly. Senate leaders worked toward a last-minute compromise on Saturday to avoid middle-class tax increases and possibly prevent deep spending cuts, such as a 27 percent fee cut for doctors who treat Medicare patients. Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank, predicts that nearly 90 percent of households would be affected if Congressional leaders fail to reach a compromise before the Jan. 1 deadline. Among the impacts to average citizens: Those things would hit people in the wallet, which in turn has the potential to adversely affect our already-weak economy. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has said the combination of tax …
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Tell us what you think is the best way for President Obama and Congress to work together to keep tax rates from rising and major spending cuts from being enacted in January.
Last year, Congress and President Barack Obama agreed to a program—now known as the "fiscal cliff"— to reduce the federal deficit. If Congress and the president don't reach an agreement within the next few weeks, tax rates will rise in January for almost all Americans and major spending cuts will automatically occur next year in most government spending programs. Democrats and Republicans don't agree about how to best raise the federal government's revenues. The president and most congressional Democrats favor tax rate increases on the wealthiest Americans. Most congressional Republicans call instead for closing loopholes and reforming the tax code. Both parties have indicated a willingness to implement spending cuts. A point of …
Roger
3:00 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
Another newsflash, ... more than 10 days after the event, we are still here, posting more nonsense on Patch, and reading nonsense of others. The sky has yet to drop, and it was actually cobalt blue on Saturday, and part of Sunday. What has happened? Three things come to mind. First, the White House has had to walk-back many of the claims made in the two weeks before the sequester date. Secondly, … more ›