More fiscal clashes loom as new Congress opens

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A new Congress opened for business Thursday to confront long-festering national problems, deficits and immigration among them, in an intensely partisan and crisis-driven era of divided government. "The American dream is in peril," said House Speaker John Boehner, re-elected to his post despite a mini-revolt in Republican ranks.

Moments after grasping an oversized gavel that symbolizes his authority, Boehner implored the assembly of newcomers and veterans in the 113th Congress to tackle the nation's heavy burden of debt at long last. "We have to be willing ? truly willing ? to make this right."

Also on the two-year agenda is the first significant effort at an overhaul of the tax code in more than a quarter century. Republicans and Democrats alike say they want to chop at a thicket of existing tax breaks and use the resulting revenue to reduce rates.

There were personal milestones aplenty as the winners of last fall's races swore an oath of office as old as the republic.

Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Deb Fischer of Nebraska were among the newcomers sworn in, raising the number of women in the Senate to a record 20. Tim Scott of South Carolina became the first black Republican in the Senate in more than three decades.

On the first day of a new term, one veteran made a stirring comeback. Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois returned to the Capitol for the first time since suffering a stroke a year ago, walking slowly up the 45 steps to the Capitol with the use of a cane. "Good to see you, guys," he said.

Across the Capitol, children and grandchildren squirmed through opening formalities that ended with Boehner's election as the most powerful Republican in a government where President Barack Obama will soon be sworn in to a second term and his fellow Democrats control the Senate.

"At $16 trillion and rising, our national debt is draining free enterprise and weakening the ship of state," said the Ohio Republican, whose struggles to control his members persisted to the final weekend of the 112th Congress when "fiscal cliff" legislation finally cleared. "The American dream is in peril so long as its namesake is weighed down by this anchor of debt. Break its hold and we will begin to set our economy free. Jobs will come home. Confidence will come back."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he, too, is ready for attempts to rein in federal spending, but laid down a few conditions. "Any future budget agreements must balance the need for thoughtful spending reductions with revenue from the wealthiest among us and closing wasteful tax loopholes," he said. That was in keeping with Obama's remarks after Congress had agreed on fiscal cliff legislation to raise taxes for the wealthy while keeping them level for the middle class.

Boehner and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell have other ideas, both having said in recent days that the days of raising taxes are over.

"Now is the time to get serious about spending," McConnell said. "And if the past few weeks have taught us anything, that means the president needs to show up early this time." People won't "tolerate the kind of last-minute crises that we've seen again and again over the past four years as a result of this president's chronic inactivity and refusal to lead on the pressing issues of the day."

While neither Boehner nor Reid mentioned immigration in their opening-day speeches, Obama is expected to highlight the issue in the first State of the Union address of his new term. Lawmakers are already working toward a compromise they hope can clear both houses.

Most Democrats have long favored legislation to give millions of illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship, and Republicans have stoutly resisted. Now, though, many within the GOP appear ready to reconsider, after watching with alarm as Obama ran up an estimated 71 percent of the Hispanic vote in winning re-election over Mitt Romney in November.

There is little doubt that fiscal issues are at the forefront, though, as they have been since the economy cratered more than four years ago. The issue dominated the just-ended Congress from beginning to end as tea party-backed lawmakers pressed relentlessly to cut spending and reduce deficits.

They met with decidedly mixed success.

They won Obama's signature on $1 trillion in cuts over a decade after using the debt limit as leverage, but were forced into a humiliating surrender a year ago after trying to block an extension in payroll tax cuts. And in the last major act of the 112th Congress, they were forced to swallow legislation that contained next-to-no spending cuts, raised tax rates on the wealthy while keeping them even for the middle class and boosted deficits by an estimated $4 trillion over a decade.

And now, the newly enfranchised Congress will begin by raising deficits. National flood insurance legislation to help victims of Hurricane Sandy will create slightly more than $9 billion in red ink if it passes as expected on Friday. A follow-up disaster aid measure that Boehner has said will be brought to a vote on Jan. 15 would add $27 billion ? more if the bill grows, as seems likely, after it is reconciled with a $60-billion Senate version.

The next big clash is expected to begin within weeks. A two-month delay in automatic spending cuts expires at the end of February. As well, the administration will seek authority to borrow more money in late winter or early spring, and financing expires for most government agencies on March 27.

Republicans have said they intend to seek significant savings from Medicare, Medicaid and other government benefit programs to gain control over spending. Obama has said he won't bargain over the government's borrowing authority. He has also said is open to changes in benefit programs, but would face resistance on that from liberal Democrats.

Boehner will lead a House that has a Republican majority of 233-200, with two vacancies, a loss of eight seats for the GOP. Fourteen Republicans declined to vote for him, a reflection of their unhappiness with his leadership, but several more defections would have been needed to deny him a first-ballot victory. It's not unusual for party leaders to lose the votes of some dissidents. Nineteen Democrats declined to support their leader, Nancy Pelosi, on a similar ballot two years ago after her party lost more than 60 seats in the 2010 election.

Democrats hold a 55-45 majority in the Senate, and control two more seats than they did the past two years.

Reid and McConnell are negotiating over possible changes in the Senate's filibuster rules to make the movement of legislation more efficient, even when it is hotly contested.

___

Associated Press writers Donna Cassata, Andrew Taylor and Henry C. Jackson contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/more-fiscal-clashes-loom-congress-opens-213430760.html

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Vegetarian Recipe: Fennel alla Parmigiana | Good Food

Home ? Cooking, Farmers Market, Headline, Italian, Recipes, Tomatoes, Veg

Finocchio alla ParmigianaWithout a doubt my favorite way to prepare many vegetables is to oil braise them, in extra virgin olive oil, of course. ?The method is used all over the mediterranean, ?especially in Turkey where the oil itself (as well as the whole category of things braised in it) are called?zeytinagli. ?Vegetables braised in oil with tomatoes or herbs and aromatics like onion have a luscious, satisfying mouth feel and are deeply flavored of themselves. ?They?re incredibly easy to make and are often even more delicious cold from the refrigerator the next day. ?Just be sure to have some great bread on the table because you won?t want to waste any of the syrupy reduced juices.

Finocchio alla Parmigiana is an Italian classic that is often made by par boiling the fennel then topping it with tomato and parmesan for a quick pop in the oven until bubbly. ?But I prefer to start off by braising the fennel. ?Then the dusting of grated parmesan and oven gratinee is merely a final send off to a dish already imbued with richness and flavor.

Side Note:
These dishes are rich and satisfying because of the amount of olive oil in them. ?Don?t be tempted to reduce the amount of oil. ?Serve it instead of meat as the main part of the meal accompanied by a fresh crunchy salad, good bread and maybe a bit of fresh cheese like chevre or feta. ?Also delicious with grilled fish.

Braised Fennel

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????Print This!????

Fennel alla Parmigiana

Look for round bulby fennel. ?They are sweeter than the flat ones.

4 large round bulbs fennel
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup water
1 cup tomato sauce or peeled chopped tomatoes
Salt to taste

Trim fennel and remove the very fibrous outer layer of the bulb. ?You might feel like you?re wasting a lot of vegetation but your worms or compost pile will be happy. ?Cut the bulbs in half vertically. ?If they are quite large you may cut them in quarters. ?Find a saucepan or casserole dish that just fits all the fennel in one layer with no gaps. ?This is a key part of the process. ?Large empty spaces in the pan can result in burning and uneven cooking.Fennel + Tomato Sauce

Pour the olive oil and water over the fennel. ?Salt to taste and dot the tomato sauce over the cut bulbs. ?Now take a piece of parchment paper and cover the fennel. ?The paper should be touching the fennel and tucked into the sides of the pan. ?This allows faster cooking and keeps flavor in.

Bring liquid in pan to a simmer and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the fennel is tender when pierced with a paring knife. ?You can lift the parchment to check but tuck it back over for further cooking. ?When the fennel is yielding to the knife remove the parchment. ?If there is still a lot of liquid then turn the fire up and let it bubble away to reduce. ?You want some nice syrupy juices.

Parchment LidNow you?re done cooking the fennel. ?You can serve it this way. ?But if you wish, carefully lift out the soft bulbs and place in oven proof dish or casserole. ?Sprinkle with imported Italian grated parmesan and place in 375 degree oven until dotted golden brown. ?Serve immediately or let cool and serve at room temperature.

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Source: http://blogs.kcrw.com/goodfood/2013/01/vegetarian-recipe-fennel-alla-parmigiana/

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A 20th Century Assumption Worth Questioning: School Provision of ...

Screen Shot 2013-01-04 at 3.23.49 PM

Why I Think BYOD Makes Sense

1. Practicality

Since we started using computers in school for teaching and learning it has been an assumption that the school would provide the technology. For a decade, schools were jostling for funding to get more computers. Now most schools have a student:device ratio of 1:1. What hasn?t changed in many schools, is the 20th Century assumption that the technology students use at school, should be provided by the school.

I think it now makes more sense for that responsibility to be handed back to students and parents. I think we should expect students to bring their own technology, just as we expect them to bring their own uniform, stationary, PE gear, musical instruments and other requisites.

Last decade that would have been an unreasonable suggestion. In the past, a computer was expensive (and the more portable, the more expensive it was). Software was also very expensive. Installing and updating software could be complicated if parents were not very comfortable around computers. In addition there was the issue of viruses and other malware which schools could keep a lid on, only if they wrested the responsibility (and right) of management from the kids. Then of course, students needed to print out their work (how else could they hand it in?), so each device had to be configured to access network printers. Plus in a multiuser environment, students need somewhere to save and back up their work other than on the local hard drive, hence network storage was necessarily provided, too.

But now many of those technological premises are all but gone:

  • Hardware is considerably cheaper now in real terms than it once was, and in a surprising twist, the most affordable devices are now also generally the most portable! (MacBook Pro > MacBook Air > iPad > iPad mini).
  • Most software is now free or cheap. This is especially true on the iPad but there are also many freeware, shareware and Web 2.0 options for laptops.
  • Malware is of little concern on iPads, chromebooks or Apple laptops.
  • Installing and updating software ? which once could be too complicated for some parents ? is now relatively straightforward (and on the iPad is a cinch).
  • Printing work out on paper for submission to the teacher is a practice that we should be discouraging (It?s now the second decade of the 21st Century! Instead of asking our students to print work, we should be expecting them to publish it online to a real audience).
  • Storage was once provided by the school on a server. These days, there are plenty of cloud options (DropBox, Box, iCloud, SkyDrive, Google Drive, to name a few) not to mention USB flash drives which are now priced as stationary rather than technology.

Relinquishing responsibility for provision of technology to students/parents, saves schools a LOT of time and money in tech support, freeing up technicians to work on improving the network (instead of maintaining computers) while giving the students more control, familiarity and ownership of their devices.

2. Pedagogy

In addition to those practical reasons for a BYOD policy, I think there are good pedagogical reasons, too. ?There is still in many of us, a compulsion to have all our students using the same software, to do the same task at the same time, and a feeling that we ourselves should have mastered whatever software we are having our students use. ?In the past, when there was a scarcity of computers and you had to book a computer lab two weeks in advance, it made a lot of sense to operate that way. But not any more. ?I think as we go forward into this decade, teachers should be delegating the responsibility for choice of tools to students and focussing less on the technology itself and more on the learning processes that are taking place in the class. ?The very diversity of tools in a BYOD classroom will encourage (even force) that into being.

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(See also earlier post on 20th Century assumptions that are ripe for challenging.)

Source: http://andrewdouch.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/a-20th-century-assumption-worth-questioning-school-provision-of-technology/

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The Church of England Still Won't Let Its Gay Bishops Have Sex

An image alleged to be of?Samsung?s (005930) upcoming Galaxy S IV smartphone was published on Friday by SamMobile. If authentic, the image reveals that Samsung will finally ditch its traditional?home and navigational buttons for on-screen keys. The bezel around the device is thinner, giving the upcoming Galaxy smartphone a near edge-to-edge display, similar to Motorola?s DROID RAZR M. The Galaxy S IV is rumored to feature a 4.99-inch Super AMOLED full HD 1920 X 1080 display, and include a 2GHz quad-core Exynos processor, 2GB of RAM and a 13-megapixel rear camera. It should be noted, however, that SamMobile could not 100% confirm that the image is authentic. The most recent rumors suggest the Galaxy S IV will be released in

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/church-england-still-wont-let-gay-bishops-sex-181859326.html

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Car sales surge -- and that may be bad for buyers

9 hrs.

Automakers have closed the books on 2012 and appear to be carrying enough momentum to continue their recovery in the year ahead.? That is likely to mean record profits for both Detroit and foreign manufacturers, according to industry experts ? but it could mean fewer discounts and notably higher transaction prices for consumers.

While a few makers have yet to report their final numbers, December appears on track to have yielded a low double-digit gain for the U.S. auto industry, perhaps as much as 15% compared to the final month of 2011.? That will likely mean that the past year, as a whole, was the industry?s best since 2006, just before the automotive market ? and the economy as a whole ? began sliding into recession.

The annualized rate of sales in December came 15.3 million units basically the same as in November. Nonetheless, the year was a good one for the industry as most carmakers posted solid sales gains ? and giving credence to recent forecasts that sales should reach the mid-15 million range for all of 2013.

Meanwhile, average transaction prices soared to an all-time record high last month of $31,228, according to data analyzed by TrueCar.com.

?Pricing and incentives spending in December were almost ideal for manufacturers as the industry spent less money on incentives while attaining higher net transaction prices in the market place compared to year ago levels," said Jesse Toprak, Senior Analyst for TrueCar. "The resurgence of the trucks segment in December helped contribute to the some of the highest average transaction prices we have ever recorded.??

The Detroit Bureau:?Chevy Volt Sales Set Record - But Still Miss Target

Going into December, industry observers picked up signs of strong momentum, The J.D. Power and Associates? Power Information Network and LMC Automotive both forecasting a 15% year-over-year gain.? But as Washington lawmakers gridlocked over how to resolve the tax and spend issues dubbed the fiscal cliff, there was concern the pace of demand might slow drastically as buyers reined in spending.? In the end, shoppers appeared to either ignore the crisis or tough it out.

A slew of manufacturers and individual brands reported record sales for the month including Nissan, Porsche, Hyundai and Jeep. Chrysler delivered its 33rd consecutive monthly gain, and Chevrolet boasted that with a final December surge it tripled sales of the Volt plug-in hybrid for the full year.

BMW emerged as the luxury car leader for the second year in a row while the Camry was the best-selling passenger car in the U.S. despite some stiff challenges from other carmakers eager to claim the crown, notably including all-new versions of the Honda Accord, Ford Fusion and Nissan Altima ? Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn specifically declaring his goal of making Altima the best-seller.

On the whole, Toyota Motor Sales, USA gained 13.2% for December.? The Japanese giant reported full-year sales of 2,082,504 ? including both the Scion brand and Lexus, which fell to third in the luxury segment? -- a collective gain of 26.6% over last year.

?We have a lot of momentum that should carry over into 2013,? said Toyota Motor Sales president Jim Lentz.?

The Detroit Bureau:?German Stylist Schreyer Becomes 1st Foreign Pres. in Korean Auto Industry

Meanwhile, BMW posted a 39% sales increase in December to again nose out Mercedes-Benz, which held a small lead at the end of December but posted only an 11% sales increase for the month. The two makers have been battling ? along with Lexus ? for luxury supremacy in recent years. But early last month, Mercedes? US CEO Steve Cannon told TheDetroitBureau.com the maker was not going to make another all-out push to topple BMW.

Nissan North America, Inc. reported record U.S. calendar year sales of 1,141,656 units versus 1,042,534 in 2011, an increase of 9.5% and the first time that the Nissan brand sold more than 1 million units in a calendar year.

After its best December sales since 1994, Mazda reported a 10% sales increase for the year. ?Honda saw sales rise 24% for the year and Subaru posted a 26% sales gain in 2012.??

The holiday season appears to have been particularly good for Detroit?s automakers. With Chrysler in the lead with a 10% December increase, they collectively enjoyed their best December in five years.

?Chrysler Group ended 2012 (with) our best December sales since 2007,? said Reid Bigland, President and CEO ? Dodge Brand and Head of U.S. Sales. ?Looking back on 2012, we were again one of the fastest growing automakers in the country with total sales up 21%.??

The Detroit Bureau:?First Look: 202 MPH Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible

?The Jeep brand, in particular, reported a 13% sales increase in the U.S. and saw its global sales climb to an all-time record in 2012. Jeep is one of a select number of brands the Fiat/Chrysler alliance now plans to market worldwide.

Cross-town rival Ford Motor Co. also had reason to crow. Though its sales were up just a modest 1.9% year-over-year, it nonetheless said that yielded its strongest December since 2006. The Ford brand, in particular, ended 2012 with 2,168,015 vehicles sold ? the only brand to top 2 million U.S. sales.

?Ford finished 2012 strong, with retail sales showing improved strength as more customers returned to dealer showrooms,? said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. ?Ford?s fuel-efficient cars and hybrid vehicles showed the most dramatic growth for the year, and we achieved our best year for commercial vehicle sales since 2008.?

Analysts have been watching the industry?s inventory numbers of late to see if unsold vehicles were beginning to pile up on dealer lots, which would indicate the growth of new vehicle sales was beginning to slow. There were signs of that in November, especially at General Motors, where dealers were saddled with more than a 150-day supply of full-size Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.?

The Detroit Bureau:?Clear of the Cliff, Automakers See Boom Coming

?Mark Reuss, GM?s president for North American operations, acknowledged the maker had ?misread? the competition and was forced to increase incentives in the hotly competitive pickup segment last month, but the move appears to have paid off.

General Motors Co.?s dealers delivered the company?s highest December sales in five years, with deliveries up 5% year-over-year to 245,733 vehicles. December was also GM?s best retail sales month of 2012. Incentive spending was ?competitive? with industry-wide levels, the maker contended.

?All four GM brands increased their sales year over year in December and we were strong across the board in cars, crossovers and pickup trucks,? said Kurt McNeil, vice president of U.S. sales operations.

The Chevrolet brand also reported that it had set a new record for its Volt plug-in hybrid, but while the full-year total was triple 2011 volume it still came to barely half the 45,000 target Chevy had originally set.

Most observers anticipate that with Washington finding ways to work around its gridlock and with new signs of an improved economy, such as housing starts on the rise, 2013 should be a good year for the auto industry.

A new forecast from R.L. Polk, a Detroit consultancy that closely tracks vehicle registrations, sees overall demand for 2013 reaching the 15.3 million market, with the number likely to grow to 16 million by 2015.

Significantly, that would be well short of the 17.5 million vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2005 but Polk senior analyst Tom Libby called that an ?artificial? high created by give-away incentives that sharply reduced industry profitability and nearly destroyed the Detroit Big Three. With capacity trimmed sharply during the recession, he says makers are now in a position to post record earnings on lower, but more natural, sales levels.

Data from TrueCar.com seem to support that. The auto tracking service found the average transaction price for a new vehicle purchased in December surged to $31,228, a $542, or 1.8%, increase year-over-year and a $396, or 1.3%, jump from November 2012. ?Incentives for the month, meanwhile, dropped 9.0% industry-wide, to an average $2,409 compared to December 2011.

Paul A. Eisenstein contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/car-sales-surge-may-be-bad-buyers-1B7812450

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Study: You may not recognize yourself in 10 years

Think you'll be the same person in 10 years that you are today? Think again. Most people realize they've changed in the past, but few expect to change in the future, a new study finds.

Instead, while acknowledging that their tastes, values and even personality have varied over the past decade, people tend to insist the person they are today is the person they will be in 10 years ? a belief belied by the evidence, said study researcher Daniel Gilbert, a psychologist at Harvard University.

"It's not that we don't realize change happens, because we all admit at every age that a lot of change has happened to us in the last 10 years," Gilbert told LiveScience. "All of us seem to have this sense that development is a process that has delivered us to this point and now we're done."

Permanent personality

In a new study published this week (Jan. 4) in the journal Science, Gilbert and his colleagues dub this mistaken belief the "end of history" illusion. No matter what age, Gilbert said, people act as if history shaped them and ended, leaving them in their final form. [7 Ways the Mind & Body Change With Age]

The illusion emerged when the researchers recruited participants online to fill out various personality, preference and value surveys as themselves 10 years prior and as themselves 10 years in the future. Over the series of studies, more than 19,000 people participated.

In each case, the researchers compared the look-ahead answers of 18-year-olds with the look-back answers of 28-year-olds, and so forth (comparing 19-year-olds with 29-year-olds, and 20-year-olds with 30-year-olds) all the way up to age 68. The older ages always reported changing in the past decade, but the younger ages did not expect to change nearly as much in the future as their elders' experiences suggested they would.

"When a 40-year-old looks backward, they say, 'I've changed a lot in terms of my personality, in terms of my values, in terms of my preferences,'" Gilbert said. "But when 30-year-olds look forward, they say, 'I don't expect to change a lot on any of those dimensions.'"

To make sure the results weren't a consequence of people overestimating their past change rather than underestimating their future change, the researchers analyzed the actual personality change of 3,808 people who filled out personality questionnaires in 1995-96 and then again in 2004-05. Sure enough, the measures of actual change in this group were nearly identical to the reports of change among the current study participants. In other words, people are good at gauging how much they've changed in the past. It's the future that gives them trouble.

The "end of history" illusion may be driven by two factors, Gilbert said. One is that people find it comforting to believe that they know themselves and that the future is predictable. Thus, people are motivated to see the present as permanent.

The other is that it's simply harder to imagine the future than to remember the past. People may struggle to imagine how they might change and mistakenly conclude that since they can't figure it out, they won't change at all, Gilbert said.

Consequences of changing

This misjudgment can have real-world consequences, Gilbert said. For one thing, people make a number of life choices, from marriages to careers, assuming that decades from now they'll like the same people and activities they do today. The researchers even demonstrated some of these consequences by asking 170 people, ranging in age from 18 to 64, how much they'd pay today to see their favorite band perform in 10 years. They also asked how much the people would be willing to pay to see their favorite band of 10 years ago perform this week. [7 Personality Traits That Are Bad For You]

People were willing to shell out $130 to see their current favorite band in a decade. But they wanted to part with only $80 to see their former favorite band play now. The gap suggests people are overestimating how similar their future preferences will be to their current ones, Gilbert said.

Psychologists actually know quite a bit about how personality and values change over a lifetime, Gilbert added. For example, people tend to become less open to new experience over time but more conscientious, he said. And the older you are, the less you're likely to change in the future ? though you'll still probably change more than you expect, this study suggests.

"If we know that our preferences are likely to be less stable than they feel, we can take great care when we make decisions. We can build in a margin for escape? ?? so, for example, if I am going to buy a ticket to see a concert in 10 years, I ought to buy a refundable ticket," Gilbert said.

But before you write a 10-year opt-out clause into your wedding vows, take heed: Gilbert's other research has found that when people feel they have the ability to change their minds, they're less happy with the choices they've made. People who make irrevocable choices tend to be happier with them than those who can flip-flop later, Gilbert said.

"The best of all possible worlds would be a world in which you're allowed to change your mind but you don't know it," he said.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas?or LiveScience@livescience. We're also on Facebook?&?Google+.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/may-not-recognize-yourself-10-years-191147723.html

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How the fiscal cliff deal will hit your taxes

1 hr.

Yes, your taxes are going up. But you dodged a much bigger bullet.

The last-minute ?fiscal cliff? deal to reverse Congress? ruinous, self-inflicted package of federal tax increases and spending cuts will raise the average American household?s tax bill by about $25 a week.

Those increases are relatively modest compared to what the fiscal cliff would have imposed, however.

For most Americans, the biggest impact will come from the expiration of a two-year payroll tax ?holiday? enacted two years ago to boost the economy. That tax break amounted to two percent of wages. ??

Fiscal cliff deal: House OKs proposal despite GOP objections

?For a lot of people the increased withholding from payroll tax expiration will be significant and they?ll really see that and feel that as a legitimate tax increase,? said Joseph Rosenberg, an analyst at the Tax Policy Center. ?But there was a lot of tax relief that has been extended."

Without a deal, taxes would have jumped by more than $500 billion in 2013???an average of almost $3,500 per household???as almost every tax cut enacted since 2001 was set to expire. Middle-income households would have seen an average increase of almost $2,000, according to the Tax Policy Center.

The deal hammered out in the waning days of 2012??preserves most of those tax cuts ? except on the very top of the income ladder. Even then, the final deal raised the definition of ?wealthy? from $250,000 for couples ($200,000 for individuals) to $450,000 for couples ($400,000 for individuals). Those thresholds also apply to many small businesses that pay taxes at individual rates. ??

The averages, though, apply to a statistically tiny group of people who fall in the middle of every variable in the new law. ?Thanks to dozens of provisions that will hit different households making the same income in different ways, your overall tax bill will almost certainly change by more ? or less ? than $25 a week.

You won?t really know until you fill out your 2013 tax return a year from now. But here are some of the ways your tax bill may change:

PAYROLL TAXES: The most immediate, and visible impact will be a relatively small increase (about two percent of your wages) that will come out of your first paycheck of the year. You?ll keep paying that ?extra? tax until you?ve reached the wage limit subject to the tax, which this year rises to $113,700. (This tax shows up in the FICA line on your paycheck.) If you hit that limit before the end of the year, you stop paying the tax.

Though you?re paying more than last year, your payroll tax rate is now back to where it was in 2009, before Congress and the White House cut the tax to help boost the economy. That measure added about $20 a month to the average household?s spending power. Now, the government wants that money back to help close the deficit.

INCOME TAXES: Though taxes are going up a bit, all but the wealthiest households dodged the biggest fiscal cliff tax bullet: the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts. Many economists feared that if those cuts were reversed all at once, the resulting dramatic tax increases would have siphoned off?billions of dollars in consumer spending that would have sent the U.S. economy back into recession. ??

The new law left income tax rates alone, except for the new top bracket above $400,000 for individuals ($450,000 for couples) who will now pay 39.6 percent on every dollar over that amount, up from the current 35 percent. (They?ll pay the lower rates on money earned in lower brackets, just like everyone else.)

CREDITS AND DEDUCTIONS: Some upper-income households will also pay more because they?ll lose some of their tax breaks on itemized deductions for things like mortgage interest. Those will now be capped for individuals making more than $250,000 (couples more than $300,000.) They?ll also see their $3,800 personal exemption ? the tax break everyone gets ? phased out.

Parents will get to keep a $1,000 child tax credit that had been set to drop to $500. The new law also reversed a $600 cut in the $3,000 credit for child and dependent care that was due to take effect. Parents will continue to get the up-to-$2,500 tax credit for college tuition that was set to be cut.

CAPITAL GAINS, DIVIDENDS: Money you earn from capital gains or dividends on investments will still be taxed at 15 percent ? unless your total income is more than $400,000 for individuals ($450,000 for couples. Those in the top bracket will now pay 20 percent ? up from 15 percent.

Dividends and gains on investments held in a qualified account like a 401(k) will still be deferred until you withdraw the money when you retire. The new law also preserved increased limits for how much you can contribute tax-free.

ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX: This stealth tax monster, which had threatened some 28 million unsuspecting households in 2013, has been permanently killed. Originally designed as a separate set of rules to close tax loopholes for ?wealthy? families, the law?s architects forgot to take inflation into account, pushing more and more middle-income households into its path every year.

For years, Congress has ?patched? the law at the last minute to save its new victims from an average $3,000 tax bump. The process also overstated how much the government collected because ?official? estimates assumed it would be collected.

The new law makes that patch permanent. But that also means the budget now reflects the loss of those revenues, widening ?official? deficit estimates.

DOCTOR FEES: Congress has also relied on a similar accounting gimmick with Medicare fees paid to doctors which are ?cut? every year for bookkeeping purposes ? and then ?patched? at the last minute. The new law restores those cuts ? which would have surgically removed 27 percent of your doctor?s Medicare income this year ? but only for 2013. So you doctor still faces the prospect of a 27 percent cut in 2014.

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS: Since the recession, Congress has added several ?tiers? of extended unemployment insurance for jobless workers. The fiscal cliff would have eliminated extended benefits for those out of work the longest. The new law keeps them in place ? but only for one year.

Low-income families also dodged cuts in the earned income tax credit that were set to take effect in 2013.

ESTATE TAXES: The fiscal cliff was also set to take a big bite out of money passed from one generation to the next. Last year, estates of up to $5,120,000 (per person) were exempt from federal tax, which then kicked in with a top rate of 35 percent for amounts over that. The fiscal cliff would have cut the tax-free limit to $1 million per person and raised the top rate to 55 percent.

The new law preserved the $5 million tax-free threshold and raised the top tax rate to 40 percent.

Though many of the deep ?fiscal cliff? spending cuts were postponed in the new law, Congress has yet to complete work on that side of the budget ledger, leaving a number of federal programs in play that could affect household budgets. ?

And while many of the just-enacted tax provisions are ?permanent,? it remains to be seen how long they remain in force.

?Budget decisions are never permanent,? said Rosenberg.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/taxpayers-dodged-big-fiscal-cliff-bullet-1C7800803

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