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news continues. fiscal cliff of tax increases and sharp spending cuts is now exactly one month away. in his weekly media address today, president obama again pushed his party's tax plan. of course, utah senator orrin hatch rejected in the republican response. >> both parties say we should keep middle class taxes low. the senate's already passed a bill to keep income taxes from going up on middle class families. democrats in the house are ready to do the same thing. if we can just get a few house republicans on board, i'll sign this bill as soon as congress send it my way. >> what he proposed this week was a classic bait and switch on the american people. a tax increase double the size of what he campaigned on. billions of dollars in new stimulus spending, and an unlimited, unchecked authority tow borrow from the chinese. maybe i missed it, but i don't recall him scwg for any of that during the presidential campaign. >> jarvis: parents and school boards across the country are debating whether to offer bonuses to teachers whose student do well on standardized tests. sharyl attkisson c
, the consequences, are severe? >> oh, yeah. to go over this fiscal cliff, because republicans won't raise taxes, tax rates on the wealthiest 2% of americans, would subject the average american to big tax increase and enormous damage from the other cuts that would happen. and there's just no reason why the country has to go through that. and we have a chance to do something much better. not just for the long-term health of the american economy, but for the immediate challenge which is getting stronger growth and more job creation. >> but you heard the president say today if there's no deal, are you going to blame the republicans for ruining christmas? >> the only thing that stands in the way of a deal right now is if a group of republican members decide they're going to block a deal because they want to extend tax cuts. we can't afford for the wealthiest 2% of americans. >> the president said on election night, you voted for politics, not action as usual. you're saying what we can expect from republicans. what can we expect from the president to break that cycle? >> a willingness to sit down and expl
nations. >>> 30 days to avoid the country falling off the fiscal cliff. everyone's taxes go up and automaticpending cuts take
and congressional leaders gathered to talk about how to avoid the fiscal cliff, the automatic spending cuts and tax increases that go into effect january 1. >> i think we're farther apart but we're coming together. >> i think we're nowhere, period. >> thursday treasury secretary tim geithner presented obama's plan, including $1.4 trillion in tax increases. >> there's not going to be an agreement without rates going up. >> president obama also proposed a $16 billion of spending cuts. >> i'm just flabbergasted. i looked at him and said you can't be serious. >> the house speaker says republicans put increased revenues including efforts to close tax loopholes and put the tax cuts on the table instead of raising tax rates for anyone. >> if there's another way to get income from upper income americans that doesn't hurt our economy, then why wouldn't we consider it. >> those are publicly unchanged deadlines. whether political theater or political reality, there's more to going over the fiscal cliff far beyond hypothetical. >> i think we're going over the clif. >> if they are going to force higher rates on
a fiscal cliff? >> well, we can get into -- a lot of that is penalties, taxing cadillac plans. -- lou: how much you want to take it down? >> but mpoint still would be, i think it is right. completely right. you know, they have the house, and they're going to have it for another term or two just because of the weight reapportionment happened regardless of anything else. and the problem, i think he has on the republican side, the house caucus cannot agree on how to take the president on. you have people who think they should cave on the tax increases, the 2%. others who don't, don't want to do a penny of any revenue. the problem is, it's not just a messaging problem. it is a corralling the house caucus. lou: we should point out. he has made it clear he is not gone along witthe president's idea, the death tax. by the way, $800 billion in increased revenue, a 51 vote. they're not going to get that. so both sides have plenty of those, if you will, divisive mechanics and dynamics at work within their party. >> that's tre. lou: your thoughts? >> it's true, but if you're playing defense as the hou
'll turn now to the fiscal cliff, 30 days from an economy-crippling deadline. where everyone's taxes go up and massive spending cuts kick in. yet, talks seem to be going nowhere. treasury secretary timothy geithner will be the guest on "this week" with george stephanopoulos. george is with us now. good morning, george. >> last weekend, you sat right here and you said that you were reasonably optimistic that a deal could be afoot. in the intervening week, we have seen a lot of trash-talking from both sides, can we still be somewhat hopeful? >> this week was a rough week in these negotiations. treasury secretary geithner when he went up to capitol hill, on thursday, the senate republican leader mitch mcconnell laughed when he got the offer from tim geithner. they think it's an offer that doesn't show any rules towards compromise. house speaker john boehner said that the talks are at a stalemate. there seems to be a huge divide. democrats said they're not going to make another move until republicans clearly say they're going to go for an increase in tax rates. republicans aren't prepared to m
's build a bridge over the fiscal cliff, temporary bridge that says, you know, we will extend the tax cuts. you know, we'll reduce the spending cuts, especially in defense. we've going to do it for three months, six months. then we can have some time to look at this responsibly. remember, congress and the president never do anything that close to a good job if they are on a deadline or rush timetable. you know, we got obamacare because of that. that is going to prove a mess. we have gotten all kind of tax deals where things never really materialize. you know, ronald reagan had such a deal at the last minute in 1982, and out of every 100 cents of spending restraint he only got 75 cents because the deal was written so badly went need to take the time on this and not view december 31 as arbitrary deadline. >> jamie: it would be great if we did things in steps. i thought about this with the initial stimulus. why not spend a little and see what happens this but the white house said according to the reports -- let me get it right -- $400 billion in long-term reductions to medicare and medicaid.
. you're watching msnbc. it's 29 days until the nation could fall off the fiscal cliff are the two sides closer, to avoid the massive tax increases and budget cuts? not according to house speaker john boehner. >> right now i would say we're nowhere. period. we're nowhere. >> the only thing standing in the way of that would be a refusal by republicans to accept the rates that are going to have to go up on wealthiest americans. i don't really see them doing that. >> nbc news white house correspondent, mike viquiera joining me now. treasury secretary timothy geithner, president obama's point man in these fiscal cliff negotiations, ran the gauntlet this morning. he appeared on all five sunday talk shows, including "meet the press" of course, what else did he say? >> craig, you know if we're in the posturing stage and a lot of people think we're still in the posturing stage with, 29 or 30 days to go. we better hope that they're just posturing, because after the period of optimism, the post-election talk of compromise, you remember john boehner came out the day after the election, the presiden
the fiscal cliff. that's called into question the anti-tax pledge republicans have signed. iffer some lawmaker that is means no agreement. >> it is not the norquist pledge but the americans no tax reform pledge and the one thing really keeping republicans -- i don't know what republicans stand for. it looks like for this in washington, it's a host of things. at least the democrats are responsible enough to get loans from china. the republicans want to do it without paying for it without any fiscal discipline. at one point the republicans have to do it -- the pledge was the last they based it on. >> nothing was done, though. that's a bad thing, aaron. >> why? i'm not sure that it is. i'm not sure that this fiscal cliff really is a fiscal cliff. i think that it changes the baseline. republicans get better negotiating position on the other side when they are not scared to death of their own shadow and fearful of not looking reasonable. to think that the same joker who is got us this compromise will somehow get us a better compromise is absolutely silly. some of these guys have been voted
the details of the president's opening gambit in the fiscal cliff talk. he wants a $1.6rillion tax increase, 50 billion and stimulus spending. and the white house has the ability to raise the debt ceiling without congressional approval. a very big deal for folks there. today, the president is out there, trying to drum up support among the public. not in washington or with congress or the senate. here is what he had to say. >> it is not acceptable to me, and i do not think it is acceptable to you for a handful of republicans in congress will middle-class tax cuts hostage simply because they don't want tax rates on upper income folks go up. gerri: it sounds like the same old, same old. the president has been making the sa comments again. is this any way to sell a plan? >> there really is not. the president is not being serious about this. the fact that the president is out there campaigning on this rather than negotiating, it means that those that are negotiating, such as secretary geithner, they probably don't feel bound by what the president is saying. th is the fit gammons and certainly no
it have a chance? >> it's hard to know who has the upper hand. the fiscal cliff if it happens all taxes go up. if he wants taxes to go up on some portion of the population, he has the upper hand but no president wants to preside over a recession. >> it will be his. it won't be john boehner's recession. >> let's talk christmas. 'tis the season isn't it? >> a heartwarming story? >> a heartwarming story at christmas? i would way wish. rhode islanders are having a bit of an issue because their governor lincoln chaffey decided not to call the christmas tree the christmas tree. he is calling it the holiday tree. now rhode islanders are upset about it you know what? massachusetts is offering a bit of a safe refuge i guess. they want to flee rhode island and hop over to another island state up there in massachusetts. the mayor of fall river. >> massachusetts is offering up their christmas tree as a place where rhode islanders can go across and enjoy list tone the mayor. >> all road lineders would object. they can go to their state house and light the tree and go to tradition. we felt they were sho
. >>> president obama pushed lawmakers to prevent the so- called fall off the fiscal cliff. >> every family will see their income taxes automatically go up. a typical middle-class family of four will see taxes rise by $2200. >> the president taped his address yesterday during a visit to a toy factory in hatfield, pennsylvania. he said allowing taxes to rise for the middle-class would amount to a lump of coal for americans at christmas time. >>> mexican president-elect enrique pena nieto took office today talking about the challenges that face his nation. >> we are a nation that is going at two different speeds one that is progress and development, but there is another mexico, that lives in the abandonment and poverty. >> president nieto says the inauguration marked the return of the institutional revolutionary party after 12 years out of presidential mansion. at least four demonstrators and four police officers were injured. 65 people were arrested. those opposed to mr. nieto says he used handout and giveaways to sway voters. . >>> authorities say a linebacker for the kansas city chiefs
the fiscal cliff? do you think we will go over it? what does it mean? we get taxes, will be cut. no, taxes will go up. spend willing be cut. everyone wants, almost everybody wants spending to be cut. what do you think will happen? >> let's look at wall street. what might happen to the 401(k)s or the stocks. last week, boehner said nothing is happening and stocks would plummet. somebody else would say something going on behind the scenes and stocks go up. this is tremendous volatility. this time of year we get santa claus rally, the stocks will rally until the end of the year. but if the taxes go on, on capital gains and dividends, people will start to sell now to have the better, more preferential tax treatment than afterwards. we may see selling in first of the year. >> eric: long-term, think long-term. once we get past that. what will the effect be? what if taxes on dividends go up? >> this is incredible disincentive. especially on the capital gains. to take the risk of investing. when you say long-term, long-term, if you don't need the money you invest in stock market. if you need it in
in the deadlocked talks to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, the devastating combinations of tax increase and spending cuts that kick in january 1st. both sides seem to dig in this morning on the sunday talk shows. >> the only thing standing in the way of that would be a refusal by republicans that the rates would have to go up on the wealthiest americans, and i don't really see them doing it. >> right now, i would say we're nowhere, period, we're nowhere. >> that somber assessment today from house speaker john boehner, as geithner, the point man, went on all five sunday talk shows, cnbc, washington correspondent aman javers joining me live now. did geithner offer anything new today? >> he really didn't. he thinks the republicans are bluffing here and they are not prepared to go all the way to the mat here on behalf of tax cuts for the rich. they think at the white house they've got their republicans backed into a political corner here, and they are really pressing their advantage hard. you saw this sort of breathtaking offer by the president of the united states last week when he offered
they want to go into a fiscal cliff. they believe there will be a short recession and at the end of the recession the economy will go sky high and people well railize that big government is good soup. they believe that use, you have a >> we knew that those with ties to al qaeda were involved in the attack on the embassy issue and clearly the information given to the american people was wrong. and in fact ambassador rice said today it was wrong. >> we are significantly troubled by the answers we got and we didn't get, certainly overwhelming evidence. >> he is a member of the senate foreign relations committee which would consider the confirmation of ambassador susan rice if the president were to nominate ambassador rice to succeed hillary clinton as secretary of state. but senator johnny isaacson of georgia said he would not confirm her. why? >> i don't think she is confirmable right now because of the lack of information we have on the entire benghazi issue, from the administration. susan rice is the tip of the sphere. the administration has put her there. there are unanswered qu
fall off the fiscal cliff. avoiding it -- if they do nothing, everyone's taxes go up and automatic spending cuts will take effect. no imminent deal is in sight. >> if they are going to force higher rates on virtually all americans, because they're unwilling to let tax rates go up on 2% of americans, then that's a choice we're going to have to make. >> i would say we're nowhere. period. we're nowhere. we have put a serious offer on the table by putting revenues up there to try to get this question resolved. but the white house has responded with virtually nothing. they have actually asked for more revenue than they have been asking for the whole entire time. >> in other words not quite a good place to be, but both sides agree that the government needs to raise more money. how much and how they do it are two of the major sticking points. >>> and protests and a constitutional crisis, what is next for egypt. we'll dig deeper into the struggle for power between conservative islamists and liberal secularists. and later, brad pitt talks about his future with angelina jolie. >>> and a dog
increase is, whatever it is. they also know what a fiscal cliff is. they disagree with that. they do worry. if everybody is watching us in the world -- we disagree on this. if the country goes o down and the rich are blamed for it, i think that's why a lot of rich people on wall street are saying to boehner, stop already. we're loaded up here. move on and don't screw up the economy because we're going to lose a lot more money if this market crashes to a second great recession. >> chris, i think the market has priced it in. >> no, you're right. >> i think they have. for a little while. not six months. >> who are you talking to? i keep talking to -- who are you talking to -- >> i spoke with a source the other day in washington, a lawyer. >> a lawyer? >> la lawyer. but he spikes to a lot of people that are wall street types. he says the market could take it. >> the cake is baked and they think the politicians up to the challenge. >> wall street doesn't have a lot of faith in this process to be able to get done so they've priced in a little bit that this could happen for a while. you wouldn't
days and counting to the country's potential fall off the fiscal cliff. avoiding it will depend on what lawmakers in these two buildings do or don't do. if they do nothing, everyone's taxes go up and automatic spending cuts take effect. still, it appears congress and the president are digging in with no deal in sight. >> if they are going to force hi higher rates on virtually all americans because they're unwilling to let tax rates go up on 2% of americans, then that's a choice they're going to have to make. >> this isn't an issue about democrats or republicans. my goodness, this is about our country. >> well, one thing both sides agree on is the government needs to raise more money. how much? how they do it? those are two of the many sticking points and the clock is ticking. >>> a series of suicide car bombings leave five people dead in eastern afghanistan today. inis yo no reports of any u.s. casualties. the taliban has claimed responsibility for the attacks. >>> and in wyoming a college teacher may have saved the lives of several of his students. authorities are praising the instruct
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the so-called fiscal cliff, but as the clock ticks down to mandatory spending cuts and tax hikes, negotiations to reach a deal look like they are at a standstill. and now, live to washington with the latest. steve? >> that deadline for action could be fast approaching but the two sides do not appear to be in a hurry, instead of negotiating a deal the players spent their unsunday in -- sundy taking their views to the public. speaker boehner appeared on fox news sunday expressing his surprise when geithner laid out the white house plan of action, calling for a new revenue and stimulus spending. >> i was flabbergasted. i have never seen anything like it. we have several weeks between election day and the end of the year and three of those weeks have been wasted with this nonsense. >> for his part, secretary geithner saying the ball is new in the g.o.p.'s court and he says the administration is ready to move forward if republicans agree to raise taxes on wealthy americans and specify their own demands for reducing government spending and he defended the plan that speaker boehner says
say, this is going to go over the fiscal cliff at least for a few days in january. >> if we go over the fiscal cliff, voters will likely blame the republicans for that. is is that true sf. >> all of the polls show that right now. we know that the tax hikes go up. ben bernanke, the fed chairman, fears that it will throw the country into a recession. they have to be careful here as well. but democrats and the president clearly believe that they have the leverage to force an increase in these tax rates on the upper income americans before they agree to a deal. >> we'll all be watching the stock market as well. >>> the president also concentrating on recasting his new cabinet and one name that came up yesterday is a replacement for leon panetta at the defense department. >> it's possible, this is a real game of musical chairs right now. the president has to fill at least three big jobs, secretary of state, cia. if the president does not choose susan rice that means kerry goes to state and hagel goes to defense. we just don't know right now. all of those names are in play as we talk. >>
of america's fiscal cliff is getting closer. can congress reach a deal in time to head off huge spending cuts and higher taxes for everybody? treasury secretary timothy geithner discusses potential impacts on the economy as the high stakes political poker game plays out on capitol hill. it's all coming up on abc this week with george stephanopoulos right here on abc7. >>> a san francisco man and his lost service dog are back together this morning. it's a story you will see only on abc7 news. >> good girl! oh, my sweetness! >> we first brought you the story nearly two weeks ago after someone stole his best friend and constant companion from outside the davis medical center. he took lola, a four-year-old yorkshire terrier everywhere, including to his dialysis appointments. his neighbor tracy took up the cause to find lola and got an e-mail yesterday. >> a woman said i found a dog running around lake merit in oakland and i could tell it was probably lost. i brought it home and i think it's your dog. >> thank you everybody so much! >> and it was, indeed, lola. the woman who found the dog called u
from alaska, senator mark. >> thanks for being here. >> what do you think about the fiscal cliff. >> even though we don't like the plan, we voted on reductions that would take place starting january 1. we know the bush tax cuts expire january 1. it's the plan a. no one likes the plan a but that will happen if we are unable to have some sort of long-term plan or at least some effort moving forward. challenge right now, to be to be hon with you, is everyone keeps having bumper sticker claims as they get interviewed and what has to happened is we have to cut the budget, no question about it, deal with the revenues and tax reform and we will have to invest in things like education and infrastructure that's falling apart in this country but we have to do all three together and no one wants to do all three. they are all still positioning and it's like the campaigns have never ended. the wall is coming. plan a is going to take place january 1 and it's going to be a bumpy road if we are unable to get down the path. there's a lot of conversation, but it's time now, people say let's kick i
divided. >> we had timothy geithner defending the plan to avert the fiscal cliff. let's take a look at grover norquist's view. >> every republican who had impure thoughts about raising taxes a little because the or guys would be reasonably has to go back to the drawing board. there's no real reforms. $1.6 trillion in tax increases and some of the savings are tax increases. >> does that it congressman kohl is having these impure thoughts that he had categorized these thoughts. does that mean that? >> i think what tom cole brought this up in a meeting. you need to talk about a host of ideas. that's a chilling effect on members being able to express within closed doors their own ideas on this. that's the problem with that. there are a lot of strategies in terms of how we get there. i would agree with grover norquist on this. the proposal is a nonstarter with republicans and probably most people who have looked at it. we have to get closer to this. they are both very far apart and holding their ground. that's no way to settle it. >> so all this rang lg about the fiscal cliff isn't the g
. and this is "state of the union." republicans call the fiscal cliff plan a joke, an insult and break from reality. suffice it to say, it is unacceptable to them. the president's opening round offer includes $1.6 trillion in new taxes, $400 billion in savings from medicare and other entitlement programs, $50 billion in new stimulus spending, and an additional $285 billion to fund depreciation and mortgage programs, unemployment insurance benefits, and payroll tax cuts. >> this extra spending, that's actually greater than the amount they're willing to cut. i mean, it's -- it was not a serious proposal. >> while his aides were on capitol hill offering up the opening bid, the president was making his case in pennsylvania campaign style. >> at the end of the day a clear majority of americans, democrats, republicans, independents, they agreed with a balanced approach. deficit reduction. >> after the president's remarks, i spoke with his main man on the fiscal cliff, treasury secretary tim geithner. >> let me ask you, the reaction to your going up on the hill and saying this is basically the white house
was blamed. >> trust me, you talk to republicans, no matter how this shakes off, if we go over the fiscal cliff, we are to blame. i hear that over and over. something to what tom said, it's an amazing notion that a just-elected democrat president is necessary to make permanent the bush tax cuts. they were tax rate cuts across the board. the idea that most of them could be made permanent -- bush couldn't have gotten that done in 2004 after being re-elected. i do think that republicans should take a victory lap in that regard. >> it is really politically smart to do this. you know, but it's also particularly smart to cut the knees out from under grover norquist. who is he? he's an unelected -- >> it's not him. >> he represents something that's real. he represents something that's real. >> i think everybody recognizes to get these numbers to work you have to have revenue increases. the question is, do you need tax rate increases or not? i think it's very tough to make the math work. >> honestly, i think -- and i like grover, but there is a big -- but there's a big, big difference between not