By Jed Graham

Investor's Business Daily

Nov. 20, 2012

All the optimism that the fiscal cliff will be avoided rests on the idea that Republicans are ready to give way on tax hikes.

Yet, even if Republicans now seem more willing to meet in some undefined "middle," there is no evidence that Democrats are prepared to accept the pain of going halfway.

To get a sense of the daunting odds of reaching a fiscal compromise before year-end, it's useful to consider the Bipartisan Policy Center's framework for a deal.

Founded by ex-Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell, the group calls, first, for turning off the fiscal cliff to avoid the year-end expiration of tax cuts and deep automatic spending cuts set to take effect.

Read the full article here

---

Economic Policy Project