Patch, Starbucks Leaning On Lawmakers In "Fiscal Cliff" Negotiations

Starbucks, which has locations throughout the Upstate, is teaming up with Patch to use its popularity to lean on lawmakers in Washington to avoid a fiscal crisis. 

Starbucks, the world's largest coffee chain, is requesting its employees in the Washington D.C. area to write "Come Together" on cups for drink orders on Thursday and Friday in a joint initiative with Patch.com to spur members of Congress to truly negotiate a resolution to the impending "fiscal cliff." 

The effort to raise awareness about the issue is a collaboration between fixthedebt.org, Patch.com and Starbucks. 

On Jan. 1, the George W. Bush-era tax cuts will expire, raising taxes on nearly all Americans. In addition, $1.2 trillion in spending cuts to defense and government programs will go into effect.

The week before Christmas, it looked like a deal was possible, as President Obama and Congressional leaders were just a few hundred million away in taxes and spending.  

But Congress recessed the Friday before Christmas after Speaker of the House Republican John Boehner failed Thursday evening to pass his “Plan B,” which would have extended tax cuts for most Americans and raised taxes on those making more than $1 million. Earlier in the day, the House did pass a bill that moved billions in cuts to defense spending to other areas of government spending, including entitlements and programs for lower-income Americans. President Obama said he would veto that bill should it reach his desk.

Last Thursday evening, Boehner said in a statement, “The House did not take up the tax measure today because it did not have sufficient support from our members to pass. Now it is up to the president to work with Senator (Harry) Reid on legislation to avert the fiscal cliff."

In response, the White House released a brief statement: “The President’s main priority is to ensure that taxes don’t go up on 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses in just a few short days. The President will work with Congress to get this done and we are hopeful that we will be able to find a bipartisan solution quickly that protects the middle class and our economy.”

What going over the cliff actually means for the recovering U.S. economy is still up for debate among economists and political analysts.

The cliff is more of a slope in terms of the timeline for spending cuts—they take effect over the next decade—but the still-recovering jobs market will take a hit and the combination of higher taxes and spending cuts by the government and businesses could send the economy back into recession, some economists predict.

No such plans for writing on drink orders have been released for any Starbucks in our area, but if they were, what would you think? And what do you think is holding up making any progress in the negotiations? And feel free to get involved visiting Patch.com/fixthedebt. 

Tell us in the comments section!