Congress' last-minute deal cut the so-called fiscal cliff in half, lessening economic headwinds in the short term, but much work remains to address longer-term debt and deficit issues, says Morningstar's Bob Johnson.
Financial columnist Gail MarksJarvis lays out planning strategies for taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and more, that retirees and pre-retirees should keep in mind amid U.S. budget uncertainty.
President Barack Obama had a warning for John Boehner at a Dec. 13 White House meeting: Stop opposing higher tax rates for top earners, or the president would dedicate his second term to blaming Republicans for a global recession.
Speaker of the House John Boehner said Tuesday that House Republicans would introduce a bill to raise tax rates for millionaires as a "Plan B" in case his negotiations with President Obama on averting the fiscal cliff fail to produce an agreement.
The U.S. House passed a bill undoing income tax increases for more than 99 percent of households, giving a victory to President Barack Obama even as Republicans vowed to fight him in coming weeks for spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.