Next Stop : The Fiscal Cliff

With the election over it's finally time to talk about the 800 lb gorilla in the room. The gorilla that both candidates and parties refused to acknowledge during the recent campaign, the fiscal cliff.

With the makeup of the House and Senate fundamentally unchanged can we really expect any different behavior from them in the next six weeks or the next two years? What political incentive does the Republican Party have for compromise? Why would the Democrats compromise in the wake of their win?

Mitt Romney was considered a “moderate” Republican. The young and upcoming Republican leaders, the potential 2016 presidential candidates, are all farther to the right than Romney. Aren't they better served by holding their current fiscal positions, not compromising an inch, and using the cliff as a threat?

I think the Republican Party has more to gain if the political situation plays out along the worst case scenario. The nation falls off the fiscal cliff. The economy pulls back into recession. Congress remains at loggerheads for the next two years. Then the Republicans will blame the Democrats for a lack of leadership and direction.

In 2014 the Republicans will take control of the Senate while retaining the House. The Democrat White House will use it's veto powers repeatedly during the final years of its term and the US voter will get angrier and angrier at the political stalemate. This allows the Republicans to capture the Presidency in 2016.

It is a terrible scenario for the American public. But what incentive does either party have for compromise? Are you ready to compromise?

George W Parker