Economy

The founders of our American Republic deliberately designed a federal government with three separate but equal branches; the legislative branch to pass laws, the executive branch to enforce laws, and the judicial branch to interpret and review laws. Through a system of checks and balances, the founders sought to prevent any one branch of government from having too much power.

All eyes are now focused on negotiations to resolve the fiscal cliff, which if left unaddressed will result in arbitrary spending cuts and tax rate increases for all earners at the beginning of next year. Arbitrary cuts combined with new increases in tax rates would undermine economic growth and likely send our economy back into recession.

As Congress turns its focus to resolving the fiscal cliff - the end-of-the-year deadline after which deep cuts in spending and increases in tax rates for all earners take effect - there is much disagreement on how to bring down the deficit in a responsible way without harming our economy. The question of tax rates remains one of the largest sticking points to the debate.

The national economy is bleak. Four years after a deep recession, unemployment remains stubbornly high at 7.8 percent, and economic growth has slowed to 1.3 percent. Families and small businesses are struggling to make ends meet. As wages and benefits have been cut, prices of electricity, gas, food, and health care continue to rise. Clearly, we are not headed in the right direction.