Last night, in a last ditch effort to avoid the "fiscal cliff" the House passed a bill that sought to prevent tax hikes for all but the top 2% of American workers.  Taking a short break from his Hawaiian vacation, President Obama stopped by the White House to pat everyone on the back for bowing to his will. His speech should be laughable considering it followed a bill that is a joke, however, anyone that knows the details of the deal that was passed (with the help of 85 soon-to-be out of a job Republicans) certainly are not laughing.

Key Vote NO on H.R. 8, the “Fiscal Cliff” Tax Hikes and Sequester Postponement Bill  Dear FreedomWorks member,  As one of our millions of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your U.S. Representative and urge him or her to vote against H.R. 8, the McConnell-Obama bill to raise taxes and postpone the promised sequester savings. 

Key Vote NO on “Fiscal Cliff” Tax Hikes and Sequester Postponement  Dear FreedomWorks member,  As one of our millions of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your state’s two U.S. Senators and urge them to vote against the McConnell-Obama bill to raise taxes and postpone the promised sequester savings. 

As we approach the inevitability of the fiscal cliff, taxpayers are understandably concerned. How much more will I have to pay in taxes?   Will the the economy worsen?  What will the spending cuts mean for my family? What surprises await for personal and business taxes and regulations in 2013?First, the new taxes. Personal income taxes will be going up for everyone. As reported today by The Right Scoop,

If President Obama and Senator Reid were actually negotiating in good faith, then one could argue that Speaker Boehner's Plan B was an acceptable, if unpalatable, compromise.  After all, it permanently extended the current tax rates for very nearly all Americans, eliminating the annual game of chicken in Congress over whether our taxes will automatically increase. 

The fiscal cliff is looming, and as FreedomWorks' President Matt Kibbe pointed out, “The $16 trillion monstrosity that is our current national debt is a product of spending too much, not taxing too little.” We need a plan that includes sequestration as well as reforms to taxation and entitlements. Senator Marco Rubio took to the airwaves last night to discuss just this. 

Update December 20th, 11:30 p.m. ET: Speaker Boehner's "Plan B" tax bill died today, just hours after FreedomWorks sent Congress a letter and launched a national call to action opposing the bill.

What should Congress do on the Fiscal Cliff? 1) Lock in $1.2 trillion in ten-year sequester savings. 2) Extend ALL current tax rates for one year. 3) Reform taxes and entitlements to avert another debt downgrade. Questions? P.S. From now on, every debt ceiling increase should be offset by an equivalent amount of spending reductions, in the same bill. No more kicking the can down the road! That is all.