President Barack Obama made his pitch for solving the fiscal cliff during a Wednesday news conference, telling Americans to take to their Twitter accounts using the hashtag “#My2K” to tell Congress they want tax cuts for all citizens’ income up to the first $250,000 and increases for Americans making above that point.
#My2K” represents the $2,000 tax bill that Obama said faces middle-class Americans if the fiscal cliff isn’t averted.
The president’s statements come at a time when Congress is facing a series of automatic tax hikes on the majority of Americans and steep spending cuts.
Analysts have contended a slowdown in the overall economy is generally bad news for the housing market since prices are now increasing and doubts remain about how well the housing market can survive another recessionary dip.
Yet, earlier in the year, analysts with Bank of America Merrill Lynch said they still expect home prices to rise even though the “recovery will be gradual and bumpy at the start.” That doesn’t mean analysts don’t expect home prices to soften in early 2013 — the period, in general, remains a time of concern for housing economists.
Fears of going over the fiscal cliff have kept the financial markets somewhat shaky this past week with economists fearing tax hikes will curtail spending. As The Wall Street Journal points out in this article, stocks are going up and down as various statements are released by politicians.
President Obama pitched his plan as a first step to meeting the dual goal of raising revenue while cutting spending.
“Our ultimate goal is one that gets our long-term deficit under control in a way that’s fair and balanced,” Obama said. “More and more Republicans in Congress seem to be agreeing with this idea that we should have a balanced approach,” the president said.
