Obama taking tough stand on fiscal cliff talks
President Barack Obama is ready to cut federal spending to reduce the nation's spiraling debt but won't make any deal with Republicans until they first agree to raise taxes on wealthy Americans and specify their own demands for reducing government outlays for a vast array of programs, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in interviews that aired Sunday, explicitly outlining a tough administration negotiating position for avoiding the looming "fiscal cliff."
If the White House and Congress can't reach agreement by Jan. 1, the income tax rate for all Americans will rise significantly and deep cuts in government spending will be triggered, events that economists say would drive the US economy back into recession and cause a spike in already stubbornly high unemployment. (AP)
