For all the warnings about the fiscal cliff, President Obama and congressional leaders are acting like they’ve decided it’s better to go off the cliff (at least in the short term) than make a deal.
Politico: “For many Republicans, a cliff dive means blaming President Barack Obama for a big tax hike in the short term and then voting to cut taxes for most Americans next month… For Democrats, the cliff is better than setting a rich man’s cutoff in the million-dollar range — or worse yet, extending the Bush tax cuts for all earners — and slashing Medicare and Social Security to appease Republicans. They, too, see an advantage in negotiating with Republicans who will feel freed from their promise not to vote to raise taxes once the rates have already gone up.”
Steve Kornacki: “It’s unclear whether today’s eleventh hour fiscal cliff summit at the White House represents a good faith effort to broker a deal or if it’s just for a show… The reality, though, is that it’s probably in both parties’ interest for no deal to emerge from today’s session.”
Wonk Wire: What it really means to fall off the fiscal cliff.
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