It´s really not that complicated. Obama just wants to get rid of Bush´s tax cuts on the rich to please his idiotic base.This money will get swallowed up by the greedy bureaucracy but they couldn´t care less about that.

"Fiscal Cliff" is just an invented term to divert attention away from the totally failed economic policies of decades of liberal rule. And Libs had the foresight to put a black guy in the White House during this period to further insulate themselves from any honest criticism.

Although many libs (obama included) engage in Magical Thinking, and are bewildered that the economy will not start up again. None-the-less, the Fiscal Cliff is their problem. NO NEW TAXES. Let them wear this mini-crash like a Bow tie.

This should be a must read.

FTA "While their votes (Republicans) may ensure that tax rates or revenues rise, they will have no assurance that the promised spending cuts will ever be made. Even Reagan fell victim to this bait-and-switch." The additional revenues will be spent and not used to reduce the deficit and spending cuts will never happen and both parties will be to blame.

It long past the time to cut spending not just cutting the increase slightly but cut whole programs and departments. Baseline budgeting needs to go if we are to avoid the fiscal cliff. A balanced budget in 10 years never materializes.

The AMT fix for 2012 can´t be done after tax filing deadlines pass, and this tax falls very heavily on Obama supporters in California, Illinois, and New York. Liberal legislators will be tarred and feathered by their wealthy supporters if they don´t make a deal in the next sixty days.

All it will take is a small, very small, handful of Repubs to go along with the Dems on raising taxes on the "wealthy" and Dems will hail it as a bi-partisan deal, thus sharing any negative consequences.
It can´t be said often enough, though it rarely is, that tax increases always happen and spending reductions NEVER do. Will the Repubs ever learn or simply continue emulating Charlie Brown and the football? I already know the answer. (sigh)

Just give them everything they want, so the whole system fails. Yes it is going to hurt and hurt bad, but nothing is going to stop it from happening. They don´t have to vote for , just vote present like Big O did!

I agree with Patrick except that the Congressional Repulicans can´t lose a conviction they never had. I´m inclinded to agree with a previous poster. That is, they should vote present and let the Democrats own taxes and the results and then crank up the publicity about the Democrats and their failed policies.

Americans will not believe in any "fiscal cliff" until the moment their legs begin to collapse as they hit the ground...and all their worries end.

I´m all for letting the Obama taxes increases kick in, will do wonders for the economy in 2016.

There is no real growth absent government infusions of fake growth.