Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
"A few obvious points on the "fiscal cliff": 1) It is about the deficit shrinking too quickly next year, 2) there is no "drop dead" date and an agreement in early January still seems likely (the sites and TV stations with countdown times are embarrassing themselves), and 3) entitlements are not part of the "cliff" (although it was possible some changes might be part of an agreement)."
Though it's true that there's no entitlement program that's part of the fiscal cliff, it's a closer call than one might think. Here's a video (nearly an hour) of an excellent presentation last August by Barry Anderson, who was, among many other posts he held, acting director of CBO. At about 26:30, you'll find a slide of what he considers the fiscal cliff: "nine different elements; they are rarely talked about in all these nine ...".
One of those elements is TANF. It was set to expire Sept 30th, but Congress passed a six month extension. So, AFAIK, it is still set to expire at the end of March. TANF replaced AFDC, which was an entitlement. But since payments under TANF are not guaranteed, it is not considered an entitlement. Nevertheless, I suspect many people would not see the distinction, and regard it as an entitlement program as well.
Other elements include AMT, payroll tax holiday, debt limit (which you hear being talked about separately, but can also be viewed as a component of the whole mess), etc.
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http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/BarryAn
One of those elements is TANF. It was set to expire Sept 30th, but Congress passed a six month extension. So, AFAIK, it is still set to expire at the end of March. TANF replaced AFDC, which was an entitlement. But since payments under TANF are not guaranteed, it is not considered an entitlement. Nevertheless, I suspect many people would not see the distinction, and regard it as an entitlement program as well.
Other elements include AMT, payroll tax holiday, debt limit (which you hear being talked about separately, but can also be viewed as a component of the whole mess), etc.