Food Stamp Recipients Rise, 100 Days Until Taxmageddon

It was the side by side headlines on Drudge that caught my attention. 

"More Americans Added to Food Stamps Than Find Jobs"

and 

"100 Days Until Taxmageddon"

Together those two headlines can really make you think. 

We're about to get taxed to death and 265,000 people were added to food stamps last month. (And only 200,000 jobs were created.)

Here's the thing, folks. Taxmageddon doesn't include how we're going to pay for that many people to be on welfare. 

I'm not criticizing anyone for needing food stamps. I just wonder how we're going to handle being able to support ourselves and pay that much in taxes. Not being able to feed and house yourself when employed because taxes are so burdensome does not qualify someone for food stamps. 

 

Taxmageddon is still avoidable. But I hope people understand Taxmageddon is in the hands of Congress and the Senate. It has little to do with the ongoing presidential battle. 

If Congress doesn't figure out how to fix things, this stuff really will happen. These aren't worthless political ad threats. It is a real thing. 

Personal income tax rates will rise on January 1, 2013. All tax brackets will move. Everyone poor, middle, or rich, will have their income taxes go up. The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6% (same rate most small business profits are taxed).  The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15%.  Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates.  The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:
-The 10% bracket rises to a new and expanded 15%
-The 25% bracket rises to 28%
-The 28% bracket rises to 31%
-The 33% bracket rises to 36%
-The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%
Itemized deductions and personal exemptions? What are they? How about your mortgage deduction or child tax credit? Think I'm making empty threats? I'm not.
Higher taxes on marriage and family coming on January 1, 2013.  The “marriage penalty” (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of taxable income.  The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child.  The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level.


This is getting scary. As someone who doesn't have a full-time job or full-time wages, this is more than scary. I have to pay taxes, but I don't have reliable income. And I don't qualify for any sort of assistance. I really don't know how I am going to both pay those taxes and support myself.

Taxmageddon and Fiscal Cliffs- how much do you know?

So the question of the day is, how many of you know what "Taxmageddon" or the "fiscal cliff" really means? It is a word that has been tossed about in the news media for nearly 6 months now. Has it just sounded like a scary word about taxes? Or do you know what it actually means? 

In my new novel, "You Heard It Here First," the main character, Haley, finds herself in the middle of a political scandal regarding taxes. When I wrote it- more than 6 months ago- I had never heard the terms "fiscal cliff" or  "taxmageddon." You can only imagine my surprise when I began to research those terms a few weeks ago, and discovered that the completely fictitious storyline in my book, is actually a real life scenario right now (minus the political subterfuge and bad guys plot). 

Just like my character in the book, I'm starting to see a need more and more for women to learn and understand financial responsibility. I wrote a blog piece for the Motley Fool ("5 Ways to Protect Yourself from the Looming Fiscal Cliff") that hopefully explains what is going on right now, and why it is so important. And hopefully I wrote it in plain enough language that anyone could follow along.

Normally I just post pieces and say, hey, go check out my latest article! But today I'm going to ask you to check it out because I really do believe it is important to understand. The "fiscal cliff" or "taxmageddon" (which, btw, are the same thing) is not only very real, it is a very real threat to you personally, and to the economy. And once you understand the reality and severity of the situation, you'll see why those 2 names are not just for dramatic effect. The potential fallout of the current situation really would be a financial Armageddon!