Politicos squabble on edge of fiscal cliff in US

Republicans and Democrats continue trading accusations as the United States faces a fiscal crisis.

According to AP, on Saturday, House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, stated that US President Barack Obama’s proposal to solve the crisis by increasing taxes “would still leave red ink as far as the eye can see.”
On Friday, Obama asked Congress to adopt an expedient measure to avert the year-end ‘fiscal cliff’ of tax hikes and spending cuts by maintaining the flow of benefits to jobless workers and blocking tax hikes on households with lower incomes.
Obama’s appeal to Congress came only 10 days before automatic tax hikes and benefit cuts are due to take effect on January 1, 2013.
Boehner stated “What the president has offered so far simply won’t do anything to solve our spending problem and begin to address our nation’s crippling debt.”
He added “Instead, he wants more spending and more tax hikes that will hurt our economy. And he refuses to challenge the members of his party to deal honestly with entitlement reform and the big issues facing our nation. That is why we find ourselves here today.”
The House described its offer as $1.2 trillion in tax revenues and nearly $1 trillion in spending cuts.