Tagged: fiscal cliff

The House voted 257-167 late last night to pass the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. The bill now goes to the President, but sets up another confrontation over taxes and spending in just weeks. We check in with Jill Jackson of CBS News and hear from Representative Jim McDermott about why he voted against the deal.

It’s Friday — time to review the week’s news with Eli Sanders, Knute Berger and David Horsey. Talks on taxes and spending are getting down to the wire in Washington, DC, and even Starbucks is urging cooperation to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. Will there be a deal before the December 31 deadline?

We'll also take a look back at the region's big stories of 2012, from history-making decisions on marijuana and marriage equality, to Seattle's steps toward police reform and a deal for a third pro sports stadium. What stories caught your attention? Call us at 206.543.5869 or write to weekday@kuow.org.

There are rumors of progress in Washington, DC, in the talks over how to move forward on spending and taxes, but House speaker John Boehner says Republicans have a "Plan B" just in case. We hear the latest on the fiscal cliff talks from Jill Jackson of CBS News.

"We're building a budget assuming everybody works their problems out in the best interest of the nation." That's how Stan Marshburn, outgoing director of Washington State's Office of Financial Management is planning for the fiscal cliff.

He says we're likely to suffer either way. If we go over the cliff, we can expect 50 percent cut to state military spending. To avoid the cliff, federal lawmakers might agree to reduce Medicaid spending -- another precious source of federal money.

Marshburn tells Ross his biggest concern is consumer confidence, since Washington gets so much of its money from sales tax.  He says reduced consumer spending could impact Washington's economy 10 times more than the actual fiscal cliff itself.