Obama should go all in and leave the Republicans to agree or have the cuts. He has nothing to lose, he can't be re-elected and almost everything he would want to do with this term will be shot down by the House anyway.

America responds well to a strong President even if he's wrong. By compromising, this term and last, he's looked weak and lost all his political capital.

That said even Obama's best hope for a bill that will pass is still 0% of the way towards actually reducing the deficit on a reasonable timescale.

You do realize that Obama continued to support those very same cuts, right? He could have allowed them to expire 4 years ago. 

Anyway, I'd prefer to go over the fiscal cliff so that everyone's rates go back to what they were as opposed to taxing just the rich. The rich pay taxes, it's the poor that pay nothing yet reap the rewards. Doesn't seem fair to me and I am not rich.

The problem is spending though, not revenue. Our revenue has doubled in roughly 15 years, but out debt is 16x what it was over the same period of time.

Federal spending in 2012 reached $29,691 for every household, with a deficit of $10,855 per household, and a total debt level of $136,690 per household; and the median household income in the United States is just above $40,000 per year. Do you really believe you're getting good value from this spending, and are you willing to spend an additional $10,855 per year to preserve these government programs? If you don't think it is worthwhile, why should someone else pay for it?

I wish we could say goodbye to the Bush era and say hello to Gary Johnson era tax cuts...but unfortunately we'll have Obama era tax increases and Obama era regulations on business.

Fiscal cliff is not what I am worried about. I am kind of worried about what Standard and poors and others will do in 2013. They all wanted to see some drastic changes before 2013 or else they will take action.

Obama can only claim to be socialist (I don't know where you lot gets this claim from, he's a freaking liberal!), if he creates a NHS style health care service for everyone and starts to subsidise higher education.

But anyway, you lot may not like it, but you have to raise taxes for everyone, especially the rich. I say a maximum of 50% on earnings over a million dollars (up from apparently 40%). The Obama administration must also fix any tax loopholes and punish any tax avoiders/ frauders. America can't afford any more tax cuts, she is falling apart at the seams.

End the war in Afghanistan and hand over any foreign military base to the country it's in (that should save a few billion).

pretty much end what Bush did in his 8 years

They won't. Every lawmaker uses them because the idea that someone is privy to 40% of your income is outrageous. And they already punish tax avoiders and fraud. The IRS and FBI have busted hundreds of thousands of people and they will find you. Took down Madoff and put him in jail. No one is able to avoid the system completely.

And yet we still occassionally hear of billionaries and companies who pay maybe 1 or 2% tax (like apple paid just 2% corporate tax abroad despite it's monster earnings) . Legit right?

It is legit. It's using credits and loopholes to avoid it. Apple will never pay much in taxes because they're given so much in tax credits simply for existing in whatever state they're in. I know my state nearly pays for all the taxes for movie studios that make movies in Louisiana.

It may be legal, but it shouldn't be. Especially for a company like Apple that is richer than some European countries! Government sets the taxes, and people and companies should pay the amount set for their wealth bracket. And yet America wonders why it's in so much debt, it's let too much slide by.