Katy Roberts , Columnist

Let’s All Jump Off the Fiscal Cliff

December 7, 2012 at 12:01 AM UTC

Katy Roberts is an editor for Bloomberg Opinion. She previously worked at the New York Times, serving as national editor and editor of the op-ed page and Week in Review (now Sunday Review).

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With less than four weeks left, reaching an agreement to avoid the negative short-term economic impact of the so-called fiscal cliff might be beyond the ability of the strained U.S. political system.

Just kicking the can down the road, averting the more than $600 billion in automatic spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to take effect in January, requires one side to give ground on a core belief: either for Democrats to allow an extension of lower tax rates on top earners or for Republicans to accept a return to higher rates for those taxpayers. It is time to consider a backup plan.