Senate's "fiscal cliff" bill adds $4 trillion to deficits: CBO

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday said Senate-passed legislation to avert the "fiscal cliff" would add nearly $4 trillion to federal deficits over a decade, largely because it would extend low tax rates for almost all Americans.

The congressional scorekeeper's analysis was released as a number of Republicans in the House of Representatives voiced opposition to the bill, and considered amending it with deeper spending cuts.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and others complained the bill's spending cuts would do little to curb trillion-dollar deficits.

Senate-passed plan extends decade-old Bush-era tax rates for individuals earning up to $400,000 and couples earning up to $450,000 - nearly 99 percent of U.S. taxpayers.

But the non-partisan CBO compared the Senate plan's revenue and expenditure changes to laws that are currently in force, which call for $600 billion in tax hikes and automatic spending cuts in 2013 alone - effectively a dive off the fiscal cliff.

With Congress feverishly working to avoid the fiscal cliff in recent weeks, many Washington policymakers had viewed the current-law budget "baseline" as unlikely to be maintained.

Compared to an alternative CBO scenario in which Congress extends all expiring tax provisions and turns off automatic spending cuts slated to start taking effect this week, the Senate plan achieves minimal deficit reduction in the early years.

Over 10 years, deficits under the Senate plan would be $3.75 trillion less than permanently extending all of the tax and spending policies in the alternative scenario. That is largely because the CBO expects that remaining on an unsustainable fiscal path would severely constrict economic growth later in the decade, holding back revenue growth and keeping outlays higher.

FISCAL 2013 EFFECTS

By going over the fiscal cliff, the CBO had previously forecast that the higher taxes and lower spending would slash the fiscal 2013 U.S. budget deficit by more than half, to $641 billion from $1.1 trillion the prior year.

But in its analysis of the Senate-passed plan, the CBO said fiscal 2013 revenues would be $280 billion lower and spending $50 billion higher, resulting in a $330 billion deficit increase, for a total deficit of around $971 billion.

Under the CBO's keep-taxes-unchanged scenario, the deficit would be $1.04 trillion for fiscal 2013.

None of the CBO's analyses takes into consideration possible future spending cuts and reforms to federal health care and retirement programs that Congress might make in a new budget battle emerging around mid-February over the next increase in the U.S. debt limit.

(Reporting By Kim Dixon and David Lawder; Editing by David Gregorio and Vicki Allen)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cbo-says-senates-fiscal-cliff-bill-adds-4-193928294.html

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US may skirt 'fiscal cliff' but faces higher taxes

Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., left, walks with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell from Kentucky, to the Senate floor for a vote on the fiscal cliff, on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013 in Washington. The Senate passed legislation early New Year's Day to neutralize a fiscal cliff combination of across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts that kicked in at midnight. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., left, walks with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell from Kentucky, to the Senate floor for a vote on the fiscal cliff, on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013 in Washington. The Senate passed legislation early New Year's Day to neutralize a fiscal cliff combination of across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts that kicked in at midnight. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Vice President Joe Biden speaks to reporters after a Senate Democratic caucus meeting about the fiscal cliff, on Capitol Hill on Monday, Dec. 31, 2012 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A last-ditch tax deal in the Senate might let the U.S. economy escape the worst of the so-called fiscal cliff and avoid going back into recession. But even if the House goes along, the tax increases likely coming in 2013 will dent economic growth anyway.

In the early hours of the new year, the Senate voted to end a long stalemate and raise taxes on upper-income households, extend long-term unemployment benefits and postpone decisions over government spending cuts, officials said. But any deal needs approval from the House.

About $536 billion in 2013 tax increases were scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, along with $109 billion in cuts from military and domestic-spending programs, if Democrats and Republicans could not reach agreement.

Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo, said he expects budget policy, including the higher taxes in the Senate plan, to shave 0.8 percentage points off economic growth in 2013. The economy doesn't have much growth to give. Vitner predicts it will grow just 1.5 percent in 2013, down from 2.2 percent in 2012.

The biggest hit to the economy is expected to come from the end of a two-year Social Security tax cut. The so-called payroll tax is scheduled to bounce back up to 6.2 percent from 4.2 percent in 2011 and 2012, amounting to a $1,000 tax increase for someone earning $50,000 a year.

"Even with this deal, fiscal policy will still be a net drag on economic growth," Vitner said. "The expiration of the payroll tax holiday will reduce after-tax income for all workers and hit lower to middle income families the hardest."

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, calculates that the higher payroll tax will reduce economic growth by 0.6 percentage points in 2013. The other possible tax increases ? including higher taxes on household incomes above $450,000 a year ? will slice just 0.15 percentage points off annual growth, Zandi said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-01-Fiscal%20Cliff-Economy/id-346b58a20a4b4cca80c8d82fc7472ac3

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Intelligence agencies faulted for Libya fallout

Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn. listens at right, as the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012, to discuss the committee's report on the security deficiencies at the temporary U.S. Mission in Benghazi, Libya. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn. listens at right, as the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012, to discuss the committee's report on the security deficiencies at the temporary U.S. Mission in Benghazi, Libya. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A Senate report has found that the White House did not make major changes in the talking points that administration officials used after the attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya. Some Republicans had questioned whether the president's staff rewrote the statements for political reasons.

Instead, the report cited changes made by intelligence agencies, including the FBI and the CIA, in its probe of the origin of confusing explanations that came from the Obama administration.

The report issued Monday by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said the White House was only responsible for a minor change.

The committee, led by independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, also said the director of national intelligence has been stonewalling the panel in holding back a promised timeline of the talking point changes.

The U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans were killed in the Sept. 11 attack. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said she used the talking points to say in television interviews on Sept. 16 that the attack may have been a protest that got out of hand.

Rice's incorrect explanation may have cost her a chance to be nominated as the next secretary of state, as Senate Republicans publicly said they would not vote to confirm her. President Barack Obama instead nominated Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who is expected to win easy confirmation.

The State Department last month acknowledged major weaknesses in security and errors in judgment exposed in a scathing independent report on the assault. Two top State officials appealed to Congress to fully fund requests to ensure diplomats and embassies are safe.

Testifying before two congressional committees, senior State Department officials acknowledged that serious management and leadership failures left the diplomatic mission in Benghazi woefully unprepared for the terrorist attack. The State Department review board's report led four department officials to resign.

The Senate report said that on Sept. 19, eight days after the attack, National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen told the Homeland committee that the four Americans died "in the course of a terrorist attack."

The same day, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the department stood by the intelligence community's assessment. The next day, Sept. 20, presidential spokesman Jay Carney said, "It is, I think, self-evident that what happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack." Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also used the words "terrorist attack" on Sept. 21.

Olsen's acknowledgement was important, the report said, because talking points prepared by intelligence officials the previous week had undergone major changes.

A line saying "we know" that individuals associated with al-Qaida or its affiliates participated in the attacks was changed to say, "There are indications that extremists participated."

The talking points dropped the reference to al-Qaida and its affiliates altogether. In addition, a reference to "attacks" was changed to "demonstrations."

The committee said the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, and representatives from the CIA, State Department, National Counterterrorism Center and FBI told the panel that the changes were made within the CIA and the intelligence community. The change from "we know" there was an al-Qaida connection to "indications" of connections to "extremists" was requested by the FBI.

The report said the only White House change substituted a reference of "consulate" to "mission."

Intelligence officials differed over whether the al-Qaida reference should remain classified, the report said. It added, however, that the analyst who drafted the original talking points was a veteran career analyst in the intelligence community who believed it was appropriate to include a reference to al-Qaida in the unclassified version.

The analyst came to that conclusion because of claims of responsibility by a militant group, Ansar al-Sharia.

The committee said Clapper offered to provide the committee a detailed timeline on the development of the talking points. Despite repeated requests, the committee said the information has not been provided.

"According to a senior IC (intelligence community) official, the timeline has not been delivered as promised because the administration has spent weeks debating internally whether or not it should turn over information considered 'deliberative' to the Congress," the report said.

The report added that if the administration had described the attack as a terrorist assault from the outset, "there would have been much less confusion and division in the public response to what happened there on Sept. 11, 2012."

"The unnecessary confusion ... should have ended much earlier than it did," the committee said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-01-01-Benghazi%20Report/id-5a24e24c793d408296dd8878da419d6e

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best internet businesses online: Blog Marketing Strategies Successful

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Concern over Oscar voting extends deadline

FILE - In this March 5, 2010 file photo, an Oscar statue stands on the red carpet outside the Kodak Theatre as preparations continue for the 82nd Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Calif. The motion picture academy says it's extending the deadline for members to vote for the Academy Awards to Jan. 4, 2013, following criticism of its new electronic voting system. The 85th annual Academy Awards are scheduled for Feb. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, File)

FILE - In this March 5, 2010 file photo, an Oscar statue stands on the red carpet outside the Kodak Theatre as preparations continue for the 82nd Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Calif. The motion picture academy says it's extending the deadline for members to vote for the Academy Awards to Jan. 4, 2013, following criticism of its new electronic voting system. The 85th annual Academy Awards are scheduled for Feb. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Growing concern that problems with the new electronic Oscar voting system could lead to record-low turnout has prompted the motion picture academy to extend the deadline for members to vote for Oscar nominations.

But next week's highly anticipated announcements looming, the extension is only for a day, until Friday. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Monday any votes received after the new deadline will not be counted.

"By extending the voting deadline we are providing every opportunity available to make the transition to online balloting as smooth as possible," said the academy's chief operating officer, Ric Robertson, in a statement. "We're grateful to our global membership for joining us in this process."

Reports of difficulty accessing the Oscars' first-ever online voting system and fears that it could be hacked have raised questions about balloting for the 85th annual contest. Earlier this year, the academy and its longtime accountants, PricewaterhouseCoopers, partnered with the electronic voting firm Everyone Counts Inc. to develop the system.

"There's considerable concern from many members that voter participation will be at record lows this year because the people who wanted to take a chance on this new cutting-edge system are either giving up on it or worried they won't be able to cast their votes," said Scott Feinberg, awards analyst and blogger for The Hollywood Reporter.

In the past, Oscar voting has been compiled strictly through paper ballots sent through the mail. The new system allows members to choose between voting online or sticking with a traditional mail-in ballot.

Morgan Spurlock, the documentary filmmaker whose 2004 film "Super Size Me" was nominated for best documentary, posted on Twitter last week that he wasn't able to log on to vote electronically and his ballot was instead mailed to him.

"The password they sent didn't work for my log-in ? and they couldn't email me a new log-in, only snail mail," tweeted the 42-year-old director.

The academy said it has made several voting resources available to members, including assisted voting stations in Los Angeles, New York and London, and a 24-hour support line.

A spokesman for Everyone Counts didn't immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

Besides online voting, a retooled nomination period could also affect the competition.

Organizers moved up the unveiling of the Oscar nominations to Jan. 10. That change puts the announcement three days before Hollywood's second-biggest awards ceremony, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Golden Globes, which are scheduled for Jan. 13.

Oscar overseers originally said the switcheroo would give the academy's nearly 6,000 members more time to see nominated films before the Feb. 24 awards ceremony, but Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter noted that the change gave voters less time to see potential contenders during the first phase of voting, when members decide on nominees.

"If the turnout is lower among older members, more traditional Oscar contenders will probably receive fewer votes, and otherwise edgier films that appeal more to younger people could fare better," said Feinberg. "Because of the way that best-picture voting works, it could increase the chances of a movie like 'The Master' or 'Moonrise Kingdom' getting in."

Ultimately, because of the inherent secrecy involved in selecting Oscar winners, Feinberg said it will be impossible to know what affects ? if any ? this year's voting changes have on the ceremony, where as many as 10 films could be vying for the best-picture award.

___

Online:

http://www.oscars.org

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-01-Oscars-Voting/id-0122cd7e587947469bcfb8b045f66002

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Real Estate Advice You Can Bank On - Maynas Eric

A real estate purchase is a big deal for most people, exciting but stressful. But, with the right information, purchasing a home need not be so stressful. These tips will help make your home buying experience one that is positive.

Expect that a foreclosed home will be in need of at least some repairs. Vacant homes, as is often the case in foreclosures, haven?t had regular maintenance. It is common for foreclosed homes to have pests, or require a new HVAC system.

When you?re ready to buy a home, you?re aware of the asking price. However, figuring out your offer is most important. With a little help from the seller, you can settle on a cost that is good for both of you.

TIP! When you make an offer on a home, consider asking the seller to contribute toward the closing costs or give you some other type of financial incentive. It is considered common practice to request that the seller ?buy down? your interest rate.

Unless you live in a climate where it is absolutely needed, try not to purchase a home with a fireplace in any room other than the family room. A fireplace in multiple rooms becomes a real annoyance to maintain and you hardly use them anyway.

A home inspection is sometimes not required by the bank, but it should be done even if it is not required. Professional home inspectors will help you identify problem areas and avoid costly bills in the future. A good home inspector will be able to tell you if there are potential problems with the home you are buying.

Always do some research about the neighborhood before buying property. This is a long-term investment, so make sure that you feel comfortable with the area. Be aware of what you are buying, including the surrounding homes, businesses and people.

TIP! Have a professional inspector look at the home you are interested in. Buying a house that requires renovations is a decision that can cost you a lot of money if you don?t know what you are getting into.

Research what kinds of houses are available in the neighborhood. When buying a home, you are not really looking for the biggest, or the best. Rather, you are looking for the perfect fit for you. The reason for this is that you will never truly get back the value of your home since the smaller homes in that neighborhood will drag the value of your home down.

Make sure to contact people you helped to buy a house every holiday, and on anniversaries of their first day in the house. This will remind people of how helpful you have been to them during their real estate experience. Give them your card and let them know that your work is based on referrals, and that it would be a huge compliment for them to recommend you to people they know.

When you?re committed to purchasing a property, be realistic and patient about your available opportunities. Finding the right property for you can be a long process.

TIP! Establish and prioritize a set of goals for the negotiation process. Get all the issues out in the open and set expectations per each one.

Buying a piece of property should only be undertaken after conducting much research. A lot of people will jump into a purchase before they fully understand the market. Take the time to learn more about the neighborhood, the condition of the property, and the average real estate prices.

It is prudent to hire an attorney. who specializes in real estate law, to help you manage foreclosure purchases. The foreclosure process is complicated and can go awry easily. Therefore, it?s good to have a lawyer watching your back. This could actually end up saving you a great deal of money in the long run.

It is important to clarify with the landlord before signing the lease, who is responsible for the upkeep of any garden on the property. Sometimes the landlord of the rental property takes care of the grounds, but sometimes it is up to you to either do it yourself, or hire someone. Other properties have it recorded in the lease that this is part of the rental money which is paid.

TIP! Any appraisers of real estate you?re considering hiring should have five years of experience at minimum. Don?t hire appraisers recommended by real estate agents.

If you?re interested in investing in real estate, a good idea is to do so with the assistance of a broker or real estate agent. They have access to many resources that aren?t open to the general public. Useful tools that brokers often have make use of specialized software to search and sort listings on MLS. Although MLS is publicly-searchable, you simply do not have the same tools and resources agents and brokers can use to zero in on excellent deals that a laymen would be hard-pressed to locate.

Monitor pre-foreclosures. You may want to consider properties in pre-foreclosure if you have ample time for locating a worthy property for investment. Pre-foreclosure properties are ones where the owners of them have risk of losing their home because of delinquency. Lenders will give you lists of homes that are about to enter foreclosure. Another strategy you can use is advertising that you are paying cash for houses. No matter which method you utilize, speak with that current owner to see what they owe, then offer them a few thousand more on that amount. This is a great bargain, since many people don?t owe the full market value of their homes.

TIP! Finding a respectable real estate agent is one of the most important parts of the home buying process. Look for an agent you can trust.

By implementing the tips that you received in this article, home-buying will become easy and smooth. If you have the knowledge, you are halfway there.

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Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/real-estate-advice-you-can-bank-on-4

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