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                 Days Remain before US Steps Off 'Fiscal Cliff'

   by Michael Bowman

   Less than a week remains before a still-recovering U.S. economy
   confronts a draconian austerity regime of automatic, across-the-board
   tax increases and deep cuts to federal spending.  Hopes of averting the
   so-called "fiscal cliff" by January 1 are dimming with each passing
   day.
   Call it Washington's version of Mission Impossible.
   The challenge?  A politically-divided and chronically-gridlocked
   Congress has just days to forge a deficit reduction package acceptable
   to legislators of both parties and President Barack Obama.  The package
   would have to pass both houses of Congress and be signed into law by
   midnight New Year's Eve, or the United States will, indeed, step off
   the fiscal cliff.
   In other words, Washington must accomplish in a few days what years of
   intensive negotiations have failed to produce: a blueprint for
   stabilizing America's runaway national debt, which stands at $16
   trillion and is projected to top $20 trillion in a few years.
   "I do not want us to go over the cliff.  I want to find a solution,"
   said Republican Senator John Barrasso on Fox News Sunday.
   His words were echoed by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar on ABC's This
   Week program.
   "It is time to get back to the [negotiating] table," she said.
   For more than a month, negotiations were led by President Obama, a
   Democrat, and Republican House Speaker John Boehner.  Now, Boehner has
   all but removed himself from the talks.  After failing to narrow
   differences with Obama, Boehner last week sought to pass legislation on
   his own that would save all but millionaires from a federal tax
   increase.  But ultra-conservative Republicans refused to back the
   measure, and Boehner canceled the vote and adjourned the House until
   further notice.  Boehner said the burden of forging a deal now falls to
   President Obama and Senate leaders.
   The Senate convenes Thursday and presumably will stand ready to vote on
   any deal that may materialize.  Some Senate Republicans, like Lindsey
   Graham, say they would be willing to vote for higher taxes on top
   earners, as Democrats demand.
   "I would vote for revenues, including tax rate hikes, even though I do
   not like them, to save the country from becoming [like] Greece," he
   said.
   Graham spoke on NBC's Meet the Press program.  Meanwhile, some
   Democratic Senators, like Amy Klobuchar, advocate a large-scale deal
   that addresses taxes as well as federal spending, including reforms to
   costly programs that provide health care and other benefits to
   retirees.
   "I would love to see a bigger deal.  I would like nothing more, and
   there are always miracles," she said. "It is Christmas."
   Before heading to Hawaii for a Christmas vacation, President Obama
   suggested a scaled-back package of tax relief for America's middle
   class may be the only remaining viable option ahead of the fiscal
   cliff.
   "There is absolutely no reason, none, not to protect these Americans
   from a tax hike," he said.
   Some political analysts believe lawmakers will find the political will
   to compromise only after January 1, when they will face the wrath of
   constituents angry over higher taxes and lower take-home pay combined
   with reduced government services brought on by federal spending cuts.
   In the meantime, financial markets could be thrown into turmoil,
   consumers may limit spending, and businesses may scale back operations
   in anticipation of austerity measures, putting the nation's fragile
   economic recovery at risk.
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   l-cliff/1572248.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/days-remain-before-us-steps-off-fiscal-cliff/1572248.html