OMG! It's the Fiscal Cliff!

[BigV]

I heard another reason in favor of "stepping gently off the fiscal curb" or whatever it's being called these days.

President Obama has the highest trump hand here, and everybody knows it. No tax rate increases on filers > $250, no signature. All he has to do is wait, right? He *could* wait for a bill from the House that includes such republican blasphemy. He'd be waiting a long time though. By waiting until the new year, the republicans get to save face by saying they nevereverevernever voted for a tax increase. They get to save face. I think this has a lot of substance because there's not a lot of substance to the arithmetic found in their counteroffers.

President Obama's doing them a favor. They know that the higher marginal tax rates will be accepted by "the rich". They know it won't be the end of the world as they imagine it and talk about it. This way, they get to continue to appear stalwart, while permitting something good for the country to occur.