It seems like only yesterday when Democrats and Republicans in Washington
were squaring off over looming budget cuts. But it's happening yet again.
Back when the White House and the Senate compromised on a "fiscal cliff"
deal on New Year's Day, they agreed to raise certain tax rates, and postpone
some $85 billion in federal spending cutss, known as the sequester, until
March 1. The assumption then was that both parties would work out a
plan to replace or postpone these cuts, which could threaten to derail our
economic recovery, before this deadline.
The plan did not work out as expected with President Obama insisting on
further tax increases and Republicans, have conceded some tax increases
three months ago, refusing to sign off on more.
So far, the stock market has yet to buckle under sequestration worries, but
that could be because Wall Street expects our policitcal leaders to conjure
up anotherlast-minute deal either to resolve the problem definitively, or to
it down the road again.
