D minus 40

The fiscal cliff is still looming, and nothing has been done yet.  There are numerous issues and they really come as a package.

Intrade sees only 20% chance the debt limit will be raised before December 31, 2012.  So there you go - an asteroid is headed straight for earth, and there is an 80% chance it will hit.  What do you do?  Nothing, it probably won't hit YOUR house so who cares?

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The Democrats have drawn a line in the sand and insist on higher taxes for the wealth (over $250,000).
"A leading Democratic senator has said her party should be willing to go off the fiscal cliff in order secure tax rises on the wealthy, raising the stakes in year-end budget negotiations." If the Republicans will not agree with that, we will reach a point at the end of this year where all the tax cuts expire and we’ll start over next year,” said Sen. Patty Murray [D-WA], who was co-chair of last year’s deficit supercommittee, on ABC’s This Week. “And whatever we do will be a tax cut for whatever package we put together. That may be the way to get past this.”
--FinancialTimes


"Right now, if Congress fails to come to an agreement on an overall deficit-reduction package by the end of the year, everybody's taxes will automatically go up on Jan. 1," President Obama explained Friday. "Everybody's -- including the 98 percent of Americans who make less than $250,000 a year. ... It would be bad for the economy and would hit families that are already struggling to make ends meet." Obama was describing the "fiscal cliff," over which he and other Democratic leaders have already said they would be happy to jump.
--WashingtonExaminer 

Republican leader Sen. Mitch McConnell [R-KY] is also drawing a line and insisting on NO new taxes for anyone.
"One issue I’ve never been conflicted about is taxes. I wasn’t sent to Washington to raise anybody’s taxes to pay for more wasteful spending and this election doesn’t change my principles. This election was a disappointment, without doubt, but let’s be clear about something: the House is still run by Republicans, and Republicans still maintain a robust minority in the Senate. I know some people out there think Tuesday’s results mean Republicans in Washington are now going to roll over and agree to Democrat demands that we hike tax rates before the end of the year. I’m here to tell them there is no truth to that notion whatsoever."
--BreitBart 

Who will blink first? And will they be willing to hike the debt limit without an agreement on taxes?

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Here are the taxes that will rise on Jan. 1:

"1. Bush-Era Tax Cuts: this includes the return of the current 10/15/25/28/33/35% individual tax rate brackets to the pre-2001 rates of 15/28/31/36/39.6%, the return of the tax-rate on long term capital gains and qualified dividends from 15% to 20% and 39.6%, respectively, and the return of the limitation on itemized deductions and phase out of personal exemptions.
2. Obama-Era Tax Cuts: on January 1, 2013, several provisions that benefit the lower classes — most notably the increased child tax and earned income credits and the expanded education credits — are slated to expire.
3. The Estate Tax: the estate tax exemption and tax rate are currently at $5,120,000 and 35%, respectively. Come January, they will return to $1,000,000 and 55%.
4. Expiration of the AMT Patch: The most recent patch raised the AMT exemption for 2010 and 2011 from $45,000 to $74,450 for MFJ. In 2013, this will reset to $45,000, pulling tens of millions of taxpayers into AMT.
5. Temporary Payroll Tax Cut: For 2011 and 2012, the employee’s share of Social Security tax was cut from 6.2% to 4.2%. This rate cut expires at year end.
6. Obamacare Taxes: Starting in 2013, taxpayers earning more than $250,000 will pay an additional 0.9% tax on their wages and 3.8% on their unearned income (interest, dividends, capital gains.)
7. Extenders: There are a host of provisions set to expire at year end that regularly do so, before Congress retroactively resuscitates them. Foremost among the “extender” provisions are the R&D credit and the personal deduction for state and local income taxes.
When these changes kick in, federal tax revenue is anticipated to increase by $438 billion over 2012."
--http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonynitti/2012/11/12/the-fiscal-cliff-for-dummies-part-2-a-closer-look-at-the-economic-implications-of-extending-the-bush-tax-cuts/2/

The people have spoken.  Let it be done.