Fiscal Cliff Update: Not Good

The latest headline from Forbes says everything you need to know in one sentence -- Here's Your Update On The Fiscal Cliff Negotiations: Both Parties Agree That the Other Party's Proposal Stinks.  The madness continues and we are running out of time.

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Here is the latest via Forbes.com --

(Forbes.com) This is where we stand: On Sunday, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met at the White House to continue negotiations on the three big issues threatening to send America hurtling over the fiscal cliff: tax revenue, government spending, and the debt ceiling. (Don’t know what the fiscal cliff is? Read here) And in a rare display of bipartisanship, after hours and hours of often contentious debate, the two leaders ultimately agreed to get Chinese food for dinner. On everything that matters? Not so much. Here’s why:

Tax Revenue:

President Obama, viewing his re-election as a referendum on tax increases, wants to generate $1.6 trillion in additional tax revenue over the next decade to help pay down the deficit. Based on the President’s 2013 budget request, $1.4 trillion of this revenue would be raised through the following:

•     Bring back the PEP and PEASE reductions and phase-outs to itemized deductions: $163 billion; Allow the top two tax rates — currently 33% and 35% — to reset to 36% and 39.6% for the top 2% of taxpayers: $441 billion;

•     Allow the top rates on dividends and long-term capital gains — currently at 15% — to return to 43.4% and 23.8%, respectively: $241 billion, and

•     Limit the tax benefit of certain itemized deductions to 28% for the top 2% of taxpayers: $584 billion.  Continue at Forbes.com

If you need help understanding the 'Fiscal Cliff' try this:

Monty Burns explains the Fiscal Cliff