Fiscal Cliff put in a much better perspective

Not sure if this is in the correct forum but if it isn't mods please move to where ever you deem necessary.

So I just came across a picture that simplifies the the fiscal cliff to where anyone can understand it. It's simple, it's easy to understand, and it's terrifying to see how our Govt. (well those who live in USA) operates...




Source- www.michaelsavage.wnd.com...

Not sue what others will think of the breakdown, I found it great and it seems to be getting shared around Facebook and other social media sites so I decided to share it here.

Mods- I ran a search couldnt find this photo if it's already been shared please 86 this thread

if i could give you ten stars for that i would.

the simplest answers are usually correct.

awesome!

really!

I've seen this floating around the net for a while. This absolutely breaks things down in a way that any person should be able to understand.

Our top leaders in this country should be able to read this. Then again, maybe not...

Originally posted by shaneslaughta
if i could give you ten stars for that i would.

the simplest answers are usually correct.

Yea when I came across this I knew it was right up ATS's alley...

That definitely explains it to me like I'm a 5 year old. It really hits you how bad it is when you break it down to the household level example.

Accurate. Simplified. Scarey...

This is hilarious and sad at the same time. It's hilarious because it's so simple a kindergartner could figure out the problem, and it's sad because the people that we put in charge of this country are so stupid that they can't understand the problem.

Sums it up and simplifies it nicely! The majority still won't get it they still want all their social programs and government paid perks. They don't care that the entire economy is in dire straights because they are printing money to pay their debts (charging up the national credit card as the picture illustrates). They want their freebes and think someone else should pay for it like the so called rich... Sigh!

In fact I am sure some will be on here soon to say they do not believe there will be a crash despite the crash of 2008 and the math displayed in the picture and dozens of thread posted here the last couple years explaining it. Every thing should be free according to them and no one has to pay for anything in their warped minds....

Anyways I digress good post S&f !...

I have to say, your short and simple OP says more with more power than a dozen long winded, multi-page ones could. Sometimes saying less is more, indeed. Spending less is always better, too. Nice example!

Originally posted by SpaDe_
This is hilarious and sad at the same time. It's hilarious because it's so simple a kindergartner could figure out the problem, and it's sad because the people that we put in charge of this country are so stupid that they can't understand the problem.

Not to be "that guy", but it's a lot more complex than that.

The money gets spent on people (medicare/food stamps/blah blah), other country's (foreign aid/medical improvments), and funding to protect people in the U.S.

People want cuts, but nobody want to be the one to actually make the cuts, and NOBODY wants anything to be cut from themselves. The poor want the rich to pay more, the rich want the poor to stop being poor.

Fact is, we've ALL become fat and bloated with the life styles we all enjoy. It doesn't matter how much you earn in a year, we all are living the high life. No "fiscal cliff" game changer is actually going to change anything, it's just more smoke to make people feel good (and to give them a finger they can point to show why their life is not what they think it's supposed to be).

Originally posted by SpaDe_
This is hilarious and sad at the same time. It's hilarious because it's so simple a kindergartner could figure out the problem, and it's sad because the people that we put in charge of this country are so stupid that they can't understand the problem.

No they aren't, they know exactly what they are doing.

The whole fiscal cliff is a sham to scare the American public into believing
this debt is their issue and concern.
Big Bankers like the Rockefellers have generated this to create a debt..
The American People Owe Nothing Of this.

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
I have to say, your short and simple OP says more with more power than a dozen long winded, multi-page ones could. Sometimes saying less is more, indeed. Spending less is always better, too.

Nice example!

We're 2 days away and both parties are willing to make concessions to the other, it's honestly pathetic how our Govt. functions... BUT........ Thank GOD Obama approved all of them for pay raises, especially for the great job they're doing (end sarcasm)...

reply to post by jough626


Not to be that guy, but there is so much fat that could be cut from so many budgets it isn't even funny. The problem is that no body wants to make any cuts because it's either a company or corporation who lines their pocket that will be effected or it lines the pocket of someone that is close to them.

From what I have learned in the recent past Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs are not the problem. The problem is that every time a law gets passed through it gets tagged with so much extra pork for their constituents and lobbies that it could choke a horse. That is where the cuts need to begin.

reply to post by jough626


I wouldn't say you're being "that guy" since the situation is complex. Most people are aware that the US is going through real bad times, but I don't think they really understand it. This helps things by simplifying it for those people.

My hope is this allows more people to get a better idea of this huge problem and to let other people know.

reply to post by jhn7537


This has absolutely nothing to do with the "Fiscal Cliff". The "Fiscal Cliff" is about automatic spending cuts and automatic tax increases on Jan 1st if nothing is done about it. This chain email has been around long before the words "Fiscal Cliff" were ever uttered by the media or a politician.

And besides that, it doesn't even do a good job of explaining the debt or the debt ceiling. Budgets and Debt are very different at a micro level than they are at a macro level.

The Debt Ceiling "explanation" is by far the worst one on that little chain email. It would be more accurate to say that you have a mortgage payment coming up, but you have already reached your maximum "budget" of money that you want to spend for the year. So do you either modify your budget to pay your bills or do you default on all your bills and have your house taken away?

These chain emails make me sad, it makes me more sad that so many people think they explain things accurately.

reply to post by xedocodex


So that picture has nothing to do with the fiscal cliff??? Giant SIGH...

If our Govt. was spending more than they were taking in we wouldnt be discussing any sort of fiscal cliff today...

Lest everyone forget, the whole "cliff" is a sham. This "emergency" was created by BHO and the democrats in 2011. The republicans went along with it because BHO and the regime were supposed to make real budget cuts but never did. This is a set up people. Wake up.

Originally posted by jhn7537
reply to post by xedocodex

 

So that picture has nothing to do with the fiscal cliff??? Giant SIGH...

If our Govt. was spending more than they were taking in we wouldnt be discussing any sort of fiscal cliff today...

Correct, that chain email has nothing to do with the "Fiscal Cliff".

If a deal is made on the "Fiscal Cliff", nothing in that chain email changes.

The "Fiscal Cliff" concerns taxpayers and government programs, not the budget, debt, or the debt ceiling.

That doesn't explain the fiscal cliff at all.

While it's all cutesy to try and compare a household budget to the federal budget it's really, really inaccurate.

An example would be the debt part. It's more like letting your neighbors borrow your money while you borrow theirs while at the same time borrowing money from the bank you own while working from home. Now...you could stop borrowing the money but then the bank you own and all your neighbors would stop giving you money all together, so you'd lose your home and your job but not your expenses and end up being worse off than you were. You experienced this once before in your life (hint; 1835) and it ultimately didn't turn out so well for you and your househould.

Simply put the fiscal cliff would result in everyone's taxes going up by something like 15-20% while reducing federal spending (across the board) by 0.25%. While that cut seems small, it's pretty huge when you're talking in trillions.