President Barack Obama agreed to entitlement reforms (reduced Social Security benefits) Bertrayal

WASHINGTON -- In his first Sunday show interview since his reelection, President Barack Obama admonished congressional Republicans for their unwillingness to compromise over debt reduction and implored the media to cast aside its pox-on-both-your-houses coverage.
With the deadline for negotiations over the so-called fiscal cliff looming in the backdrop, the president took to NBC's "Meet the Press" to defend his efforts to find common ground. He noted that he had moved off his initial demands for revenue (once $1.6 trillion, now $1.2 trillion), agreed to entitlement reforms (reduced Social Security benefits) and already signed hefty spending cuts ($1 trillion as part of the Budget Control Act in 2011). For all that, he added, he was still waiting for Republicans to come closer to halfway.

The Political Financial Fiscal Cliff End of 2012 Video Round Table

 

In the United States, the fiscal cliff is a term used to refer to the economic effects that could result from tax increases, spending cuts and a corresponding reduction in the US budget deficit beginning in 2013 if existing laws are not changed by the end of 2012. The deficit—the difference between what the government takes in and what it spends—is expected to be reduced by roughly half beginning in the first days of 2013. This sharp decrease in the deficit in such a short period of time is known as the fiscal cliff. The Congressional Budget Office estimates this sudden reduction will probably lead to a mild recession in early 2013.

Key laws leading to the fiscal cliff
A number of laws led to the fiscal cliff, including these provisions:^[1][16]

• Expiration of the Bush tax cuts extended by President Obama in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010;

• Across-the-board spending cuts ("sequestration") to most discretionary programs as directed by the Budget Control Act of 2011;

• Reversion of the Alternative Minimum Tax thresholds to their 2000 tax year levels;

• Expiration of measures delaying the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate from going into effect (the "doc fix"), as extended by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (MCTRJCA);

• Expiration of the 2% Social Security payroll tax cut, most recently extended by MCTRJCA;

• Expiration of federal unemployment benefits, as extended by MCTRJCA, and

• New taxes imposed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

The White House's first formal offer, presented Nov. 29 left Mr. Boehner incredulous. It included a request for $1.6 trillion in additional tax revenue over 10 years, a permanent increase in the debt ceiling and money for road projects and other year-end priorities. In return it offered spending cuts of $400 billion—25 cents for each dollar in new revenue

Fiscal Cliff Budget Negotiations, Gun Control in America: 'This Week' Roundtable Discussion

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324731304578193770576333616.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_fiscal_cliff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrjdt2LMi1M