Fiscal Cliff: By The Numbers

Washington the pressures on the clock is ticking the countdown of the so called fiscal cliff -- the 72 hour mark in just a few minutes. Well while congress is hoping for a hail Mary deal to avoid... See More

Washington the pressures on the clock is ticking the countdown of the so called fiscal cliff -- the 72 hour mark in just a few minutes. Well while congress is hoping for a hail Mary deal to avoid taking the plunge of the fiscal cliff most Americans are wondering what is wrong with these people. And how exactly it's going to affect them so we went ahead and crunch the numbers forty. There they wore again. Our nation's leaders trooping into the White House one more time and afterwards the president. The -- for immediate action is here. It is now you've heard that before but today on the brink of the fiscal cliff a glimmer of well something. I'm optimistic we may still be able to reach an agreement that can passed both houses. In time. But don't hold your breath there is deep skepticism in Washington that the leadership of our country will get its act together on time so let's say. Over the -- What does it mean for you. How big a deal is this. For ordinary tax while to big deal on that'd be a kind of a sudden shock if you had a lighter take -- today right starting at the beginning in 2013. First payroll taxes the taxes that fund Social Security they'll go up on everyone from four point 2% to six point 2%. As the recession related payroll tax holiday expires. Then income taxes will go up across the board every tax -- The real money for every house for instant. A single parent with two kids making 37000 dollars a year should get -- with -- 800 dollar plus tax increase. A married couple with a kid in college making about a 137000. Dollars. 8000. More in taxes on that family. And if you really -- say LeBron James rich 53 million dollars a year -- Cough up 2.4. Million dollars more to uncle -- And that's not all two million Americans who lost their jobs are getting help -- unemployment benefits at the stroke of midnight on January 1. They get stiffed not a dime more. The federal help for unemployment benefits would go away and that's real pain for people who are already suffered. Yes and it's also. An immediate. Removal. Economic activity you know from the economy because if you get unemployment benefits that money gets spent into the economy relatively quickly and the hits just keep on coming. Capital gains taxes up 5% the child tax credit cut in half from a thousand dollars per -- to 500. You can't even die without getting nailed the estate tax goes from 35%. -- all the states over five million dollars. -- 55%. On any estate worth more than one million dollars. And all of this adds up to a major blow to the still fragile economy. You have the housing market and auto sales rebounding pretty strongly you know the jobs market even has kind of gotten on firmer footing as well so it looks like there. The economy's been gathering up some strength. And what we do is do. Create -- -- when it would basically give people another reason. Not to spend and hire. It's no way to run a popsicle stand doesn't seem like but in Washington they just can't seem to get it done which given the stakes here. Is we year. Outside of Washington nobody understands how it is that this seems to be a repeat -- Over and over ordinary folks they do their jobs. They meet deadlines the notion -- our elected leadership can't do the same thing is mind boggling -- And is to stop. Will believe it when we see it.