Fairfax Spared Wrath Of Sequestration

Thanks to the fiscal cliff compromise it looks like Fairfax has temporarily been spared the full wrath of  defense spending cuts known as sequestration.

Some sources were reporting yesterday that as many as 800,000 federal contractors would have received layoff notices as early as Wednesday if the sequester had gone into effect.  The local region in turn could have lost as many as 100,000 jobs.  This in turn could have easily turned into an economic disaster for the local area as the resulting job losses would have spilled over into the broader economy. 

Unfortunately, we are not out of the woods yet. Congress only delayed the cuts by two months.  Republicans are hoping to use the sequester as leverage in another debt ceiling deal with President Obama. 

The fiscal cliff deal also saw tax rates rise, and not just for wealthy Americans either.

WTOP published an article that breaks down expected tax increases for 2013 based on income level. 

Unfortunately, every income level will see their tax levels increase at the start of the new year. 

So at the start of the new year, we are all facing higher taxes and potentially massive layoffs in the months to come.

Happy 2013 indeed!