not much compromise and common ground. and that was pretty much a different story. in the lame duck, a lot of issues that passed there that were willing to work together were issues where both sides agreed on don t ask, don t tell, are peeling that law on the tax cut compromise and, you know, a few of the other things concluding the s.t.a.r.t. missile treaty. i don t think there ll be nearly as much common ground because of the issues in the new congress, joe. quickly, there s a pretty good little pop culture issue brewing too. i ve heard some talk that the house of representatives is actually discussing the idea of bringing things like ipads and iphones to the floor of the house. but it could be controversial. is that what you re hearing? yep. the republican leadership wants to allow that to happen. of course, they re going to have to have a vote to change the rules and some lawmakers a no, not a good idea. they don t want these devices on the floor of the house. they think it may
republicans on a tax cut compromise before the end of the lame duck congress. but some experts predict that goodwill may run out early in the new year when both sides clash over money mawrts. matters. i think the biggest explosion will be about spending, debt, deficits, and health care. those are the areas where the parties disagree the most, where they have the least in common, and where there isn t a lot of common ground for compromise. aides say the president plans to spend some time early in the year focusing on relations with china with a state visit to the white house in january. china is critical to the global economy and also with national security hot spots like north korea and iran. as for the nuclear ambitions in iran, that issue may hit a boiling point in 2011, as tehran continues to find the international community. in short, we have done a pretty good job squeezing iran economically with this
okay, vera hi, norah. there is a lot in the tax cut compromise. not only that you would have to pay more in taxes, but also a payroll deduction. what should we be doing with that money? adjust your withholdings. three out of four taxpayers got a refund last year and the average refund is $2,900 which tells us we re having too much with held. that s a couple hundred dollars a month in your pocket as you earn it. so, start the new year off right by adjusting your holdings. now, with that extra money that many americans will have in their paychecks and in their pocketbook, you recommend, though, increasing our retirement contributions. why? that s always a good thing to do and also the social security tax has been reduced, as well. a larger paycheck. but you do want to boost your retirement contributions. people wait until the end of the year to do this. do it at the beginning of the year. you re saving for the future, a good way to reduce your overall
is a massive infrastructure that new york has put in place since 9/11. in a very different way than the rest of the country. the national government, of course, in order to protect the homeland launched two foreign wars and then several small secretive operations with the idea of keeping them over there so we don t fight them over here. and new york richard, let me ask you about we spent a lot of money on infrastructure. we have heard any intelligence from national security officials that there is any chatter, any threat of an attack? no, i haven t heard any. all right, good to know. richard engel, happy new year to you. let s hope it s a safe one for all of us. so far so good. more good news for 2011. president obama signed that tax cut compromise so millions of americans won t get a tax hike. what should you be doing to start 2011 off right? vera gibbons joins me now.
by banning too much off shore drilling and helped to increase the price was gas which is a major issue in the reelection campaign. the president urged the menches - americans to go to the gulf and eat sea food and took a vacation to maine. critics say with unemployment at 9.8 percent more should have been done. if the white house has one regret they didn t persuade the american public they were focused on the laser on jobs. postelection, mr. obama pushed for a tax cut compromise and able to strike a deal with the republicans and signed it into law. biggest accomplishment for the president was a bipartisan tax deal in the lame duck session. he had a weak hand to play and lo and behold he got the tax