Fiscal “Y2Cliff” Sham Held Investors Hostage in 2012

http://www.investmentcontrarians.com/debt-crisis/fiscal-y2cliff-sham-held-investors-hostage-in-2012/1186/

Fiscal “Y2Cliff” Sham Held Investors Hostage in 2012

By John Whitefoot for Investment Contrarians

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On January 1, 2000, the world breathed a collective sigh of relief that the over-hyped Y2K fiasco dissipated without even a whimper after years of ballyhoo.

Some things never change.

As expected, at the last moment, Democrats and Republicans came together in joyous union and resolved the so-called fiscal cliff. Nervous investors around the world joined together with rapturous optimism and jumped back into the markets.

On January 1, 2013, the House approved the new deal by a 257 to 167 margin. The bill increases the income tax rate from 35.0% to 39.6% for individuals earning more than $400,000 a year and couples taking home more than $450,000 combined. Everyone else will continue to see income tax cuts.

None of this should be a surprise to anyone, since Obama, in his bid for re-election, said he would increase the tax rates on the wealthy, though his definition of “wealthy” has changed, climbing from earnings of $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for families.

While both sides are unhappy about what they didn’t get, they should be unhappy about how they treated the global population.

For almost a year, inept politicians in Washington sat around, worrying about their chances for re-election; ignoring the impact the unresolved fiscal cliff was having on the international investing community and global economy.

http://www.investmentcontrarians.com/debt-crisis/fiscal-y2cliff-sham-held-investors-hostage-in-2012/1186/