Bernanke & CBO Warn About Financial Cliff as Congress Dithers

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) warned Wednesday, that unless bickering politicians get their act together, nearly $500 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes would kick in from January. Over 10 years these policies could take almost $7 trillion out of the economy.

This assault on the federal budgetary deficit is also known as a fiscal cliff, a phrase coined by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The main facets of this cliff would be a withdrawal of tax cuts, protection from Minimum Alternate Tax, abolishment of various kinds of tax concessions, and massive cuts...