lawmakers have is the impact of these across-the-board spending cuts due to kick in at midnight tonight, that will affect many federal agencies and the military. and the concern is that would cost jobs, it would limit programs, and would have a harmful effect on the economy. so to delay that has a cost that further adds to the deficit. so they have been trying to find ways to offset that cost. to bring in new revenue through these new taxes, to protect the current tax rates for the majority of americans. so anyone who earns less than 400,000 dollars as an individual will have the same tax rates as they do now. other sorts of tax provisions like the 2% payroll tax will stay in effect. and for those people who have been out of work the longest and have been depending on unemployment benefits, those will continue as a part of this deal. it is complicated. it has very significant impact on the economy, on people's pocketbooks, and there has been sharp political divide for a very long time. that's the subject of the