Several Republican senators have recently said that they intend to take the federal debt limit — and thus the creditworthiness of the nation — hostage in order to force Democrats and President Obama to accept cuts to critical federal programs, including Social Security and Medicare. “Before we vote again to address the debt ceiling — even though it may be at great political cost — we’ve got to address spending, and that means entitlements,” said Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).

Failure to raise the debt ceiling — which merely confirms that the nation will pay for spending already approved by Congress — would have catastrophic consequences for the economy. But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is clearly on board with taking it hostage, pushing Republicans to “seize” this “immediate opportunity”:

But in the upcoming months, we will have the opportunity to put our country back on sound financial footing—and there’s no excuse not to seize it. The President claims to want a balanced approach to solve our problems. And now that he has the tax rates he wants, his calls for ‘balance’ mean he must join us in our efforts to achieve meaningful spending and government reform. We have an immediate opportunity to act: the debt ceiling.

But a “balanced” deal would require much more revenue that that included in the deal to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff.” While that deal raises about $620 billion, spending cuts enacted last year total about $1.5 trillion, a 2.5 to 1 ratio of programmatic spending cuts to revenue. Adding in savings from interest payments on the debt moves the ratio to 3 to 1.

Despite these numbers, McConnell is urging Republicans to take the creditworthiness of the entire country hostage to gut programs upon which millions of Americans depend. Failing to raise the debt ceiling would cause a bigger economic contraction than that experienced during the depths of the Great Recession.

Had the United States gone fully over the so-called “fiscal cliff,” it would have enacted policies that led to more austerity than the European debt crisis has caused across the Atlantic. Congress averted much of the fiscal cliff this week, while punting other parts to deadlines later in the year, but even without a full ride over the ledge, the country is on pace to experience more austerity than most of Europe.

Altogether, the U.S. will have about $348 billion in austerity measures this year — roughly $200 billion from spending cuts, $125 billion from the end of the payroll tax cut, and $24 billion in taxes from Obamacare. That amounts to austerity totaling 2.1 percent of GDP, a bigger austerity package than Britain, Germany, or Spain has enacted, as the Washington Post’s Brad Plumer shows in this chart:

Austerity plunged Great Britain and much of Europe into a double-dip recession as it drove unemployment through the roof and caused mass protests in cities across the continent. Meanwhile, the stimulus act signed by President Obama in 2009 led to economic expansion that pulled the U.S. out of the recession. Congressional Republicans blocked further efforts to stimulate the economy. And during the fiscal cliff debate, neither Democrats nor Republicans sought to replace the payroll tax cut with a similar provision, even as the Congressional Budget Office said it was the tax provision that would hurt economic growth the most.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) — a rising star within the GOP — tore into the Republican-controlled House of Representatives for failing to vote on a Hurricane Sandy aid package before the end of the 112th Congress on Tuesday night. “Our people were played last night as a pawn,” Christie said, adding that residents of New Jersey and New York have been treated as second-class citizens.

Noting that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle provided relief for victims of past national disaster at a greatly expedited pace, Christie charged that Republicans put politics “before our oaths to serve our citizens.” “Last night, the House of Representatives failed that most basic test of public service and they did so with callous indifference to the suffering of the people of my state,” he said.

“There is only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims: the House majority and their Speaker John Boehner (R-OH),” Christie declared. Historically, “disaster relief was something that you didn’t play games with, but now in this current atmosphere everything is a subject of one-upmanship,” he continued. “It is why the American people hate Congress.” Watch a portion of his remarks:

Christie said that he called Boehner four times after 11:20 PM “and he did not take my calls” or explain why he pulled a vote on the measure, which had passed the Senate earlier in a bipartisan vote. 62 Senators supported the $60 billion relief measure and a House Appropriations Committee had approved a $27 billion bill.

“Sixty-six days and counting. Shame on you, shame on Congress,” Christie said. “My hope is that the good people in Congress will prevail upon their colleagues to finally put aside the politics and help our people now.” The New Jersey governor explained that he was given assurances that some version of the relief package would come to the floor as late as 9:00 PM last night and claimed that nobody has given him a “credible reason” as to why the bill wasn’t voted on. GOP House members from New York like Reps. Peter King and Michael Grimm are also publicly questioned the reason behind Boehner’s decision.

Responding to Republican criticism that the relief bill wall full of wasteful projects, Christie explained that he and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) thoroughly substantiated the size of the package. “Those guys should spend a little more time reading the information we sent them and a little less time reading political talking points put together by their staff,” he said. Christie also left the door open to campaigning against certain House Republicans. “We’ll see,” he said. “Primaries are an ugly thing.”

In the last few years, House Republicans have embraced the practice of holding disaster relief hostage in exchange for Democratic concessions on spending cuts, but in each instance they have ultimately backed down and passed relief aid. The federal flood insurance program is expected to run out of money by the end of next week.

A spokesman for Boehner insisted in an email to Reuters that “The Speaker is committed to getting this bill passed this month,” but believed that Tuesday night “was not a good time” to vote on relief.

By passing legislation to avert at least part of the so-called “fiscal cliff,” the combination of tax increases and spending cuts that was set to take effect at the beginning of the year, Congress avoided income tax increases on households that make less than $450,000 a year. The deal still raises taxes on 77 percent of American households, though, because Congress did not include an extension of a temporary payroll tax cut meant to stimulate the economy.

What Congress did manage to extend, however, was a set of corporate tax breaks that benefit NASCAR, the professional stock car racing circuit, as well as breaks for filmmakers and Puerto Rican rum producers:

– SEC. 312. EXTENSION OF 7-YEAR RECOVERY PERIOD FOR MOTORSPORTS ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEXES.

– SEC. 317. EXTENSION OF SPECIAL EXPENSING RULES FOR CERTAIN FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS.

– SEC. 329. EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY INCREASE IN LIMIT ON COVER OVER OF RUM EXCISE TAXES TO PUERTO RICO AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS.

The legislation also extended two provisions — known as “active financing” and “look-thru” — that make it easier for corporations to shelter profits overseas. Overall, the package of corporate tax breaks extended in the legislation cost $40 billion a year, and corporate tax breaks in total cost the government more than $100 billion a year.

Meanwhile, there was bipartisan opposition to extending the payroll tax cut, since Republicans oppose it outright and many Democrats feared it would undermine Social Security, which is financed by payroll tax revenues. Proposals to replace the payroll tax cut with another provision, like the Making Work Pay credit, were never seriously considered as part of the final package. The expiration of the payroll tax cut (or failure to find a replacement) was the most economically damaging piece of the tax side of the fiscal cliff, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Last night, the House of Representatives passed the Senate’s compromise bill to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff.” The bill, dubbed the “American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012,” raised taxes on (some of) the wealthiest Americans, while punting several other budget decisions down the road, including whether or not the so-called “sequester” spending cuts will occur. Here are some important numbers from the bill’s resolution of the fiscal cliff’s tax side:

– The first major tax increase for the wealthy in 20 years. Allowing the expiration of some of the Bush tax cuts amounts to the first major tax increase for the wealthiest Americans since the 1990s.

– The Bush tax cuts expire for just 0.7 percent of taxpayers. The expiration will occur on income in excess of $400,000 (or $450,000 for a couple). This translates into “a little over 1 million Americans” according to the Tax Policy Center. The capital gains and dividend tax will also increase to 20 percent for wealthy earners.

– The top 1 percent will pay an average of $73,633 more in taxes. Bloomberg News noted that, “among households with incomes between $500,000 and $1 million, taxes would go up by an average of $14,812.”

– 77 percent of households will see a tax hike. Due to the expiration of a cut in the payroll tax, most workers will see their taxes increase slightly in 2013. The expiration of the payroll tax cut will deal a significant blow to the economy.

– $4 trillion in deficits and $600 billion in revenue. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill will increase the deficit by around $4 trillion over the next ten years compared to a world in which all of the Bush tax cuts expired. However, it raises about $600 billion more in revenue compared to the policies that were in place in 2012.

– $2.50 in spending cuts for every $1 in revenue. As Americans for Tax Fairness noted, “This bill raises $620 billion over 10 years, but $1.5 trillion in budget cuts were already enacted last year; that means for every one dollar in new taxes there have been 2.5 dollars in spending cuts to reduce the deficit.”

– Two million unemployed workers see benefits saved. Without the extension included in the fiscal cliff deal, millions of workers would have seen their federal unemployment insurance pulled out from under them.

– Estate tax giveaway costs billions. The estate tax rate will increase slightly to 40 percent this year with a $5 million exemption, but it would have gone to 55 percent with a $1 million exemption in the absence of a deal. As the Atlantic’s Matt O’Brien noted, “Only 3,730 households will pay the estate tax next year if the exemption is set at $5 million, versus 47,170 if it’s set at $1 million.”

The bill also extended provisions of the farm bill that will prevent milk prices from spiking and included an important provision to help underwater homeowners.

After finally passing the Senate’s bill to narrowly avoid the fiscal cliff late Tuesday evening, Republicans put an end to the do-nothing 112th Congress by refusing to hold a vote on Hurricane Sandy disaster relief funding.

Late last week, the Senate passed a $60 billion relief package with the help of several Republicans, but Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) did not even take up the bill. On Wednesday morning, Boehner’s office told The Hill that the Speaker intends to pass a relief bill in the new Congress later this month, but the delay means that the Senate will have to draft and pass an entirely new bill for the 113th Congress.

A parade of congressmen from the impacted region raised strong objections on the House floor, including several Republicans. “Mr. Speaker, tonight’s action not to hold this vote on the supplemental is absolutely indefensible,” said Rep. Peter King (R-NY), whose Long Island district was among the most heavily impacted by the storm. “Everybody played by the rules, except tonight when the rope is pulled out from under us. Absolutely inexcusable, absolutely indefensible. We have a moral obligation to hold this vote.”

Watch it:

Hurricane Sandy caused an estimated $78.7 billion in damage across New York and New Jersey alone when it made landfall in late October. In the last few years, House Republicans have embraced the practice of holding disaster relief hostage in exchange for Democratic concessions on spending cuts, but in each instance they have ultimately backed down and passed relief aid.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) schooled the hosts of Fox & Friends on the details of the deal to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff” during an appearance to explain his opposition to the Senate-passed compromise on Wednesday morning. Smith also laughed off the network’s suggestion that President Obama has not offered specific spending cuts.

Smith said he voted against the “American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012” because the measure locked in low revenue levels that could necessitate dramatic spending cuts in the future. The Fox News hosts appeared incredulous, however, arguing that Obama failed to put any spending cuts on the table or show leadership on entitlement reform. Once Smith pointed to Obama’s proposal to change the growth of Social Security benefits, co-host Steve Doocy quickly dismissed the plan as a “nonstarter.” The Congressman laughed at the network’s attempt to criticize Obama and then debunked its claim that the GOP offered more specific spending reductions than the president:

DOOCY: Congressman, it’s great that you’re worried about spending and taxes, but you know, there are a lot of people who are watching this and they see the president and he really took no leadership when it comes to cutting spending with the budget and with this latest crisis, so it seems like….

SMITH: I don’t actually agree with that. The president put on the table cuts to entitlements. He put on the table the chained CPI issue, among other issues.

DOOCY: Wait, but that was a nonstarter for a lot of people in your party.

SMITH: [Laughs] Here is the thing, I mean you can say, ‘well, he’s not showing leadership.’ But now what you’re saying is he showed leadership, but nobody else was willing to. So it’s really hard to blame the president … As long as we’re talking about the president, let me also make the point, Speaker Boehner, the Republicans, what have they put on the table in terms of specific spending?

BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): Look at the Ryan plan. Look at the budget they passed.

SMITH: No. A budget is not an appropriations bill, Brian. The budget said across the board, we will cut 10%. We’re not going to tell you what, we’re not going to tell you where. We’re just going to imagine that it’s going to happen. In terms of specific spending cuts, the president had actually put more on the table during this last negotiation than the so-called fiscal conservatives leading the House.

KILMEADE: Really? Because I don’t know anything that he wanted to cut besides defense.

SMITH: I just told you! I just told you!

Watch it:

“I’m concerned that revenue has been sort of taken off the table at this point,” Smith said. Ninety-percent “of the Bush tax cuts are now locked in permanently, so any effort to deal with the very large debt and deficit that we have going down the road here revenue is pretty much off the table and we didn’t get much. Those are my concerns and that’s why I voted no.”