Sunday, 9 December 2012

What the heck is a Fiscal Cliff?


How about I let  Mr Burns explain…


And that is all you need to know!




But if you need some more detail, let’s take a step back. Fiscal policy is the government’s method of demining the tax level and it’s allocation of how to spend that money. From dictionary.com, a cliff is: a high steep face of a rock. The US economy is in a lot of debt. Each year they spend approximately $US 3.6 trillion, and makes $US 2.3 trillion, leaving a deficit of $US 1.3 trillion and constitutional obligation to reduce the debt levels.

Essentially if the Democrats and the Republicans cannot agree on a Fiscal policy that cuts the level of spending, a lot of tax hikes and budget cuts will come into effect at midnight, January 1st, 2013. The origin of the preverbal ‘cliff’ comes from the worry that if all of these changes to fiscal policy occur at once it could launch the US economy into another recession, along with the rest of the world. So it all comes down to whether opposing politicians can make concessions and come to an agreement; Republicans wanting to slash spending but avoid raising taxes, where Democrats are looking for more of a compromise between the two.

My advice? … Never trust politicians, be ready for the fiscal cliff!