Fiscal Cliff standstill on Capitol Hill
Posted at: 11/29/2012 7:23 PM
| Updated at: 11/29/2012 9:54 PM
By: Steve Handelsman, NBCNC
House Speaker John Boehner warned Thursday there's a real danger of going off the fiscal cliff.
It was meant as a shocker.
Boehner said there's been no substantial progress in two weeks of talks.
The statement came after his meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
Mr. Boehner also spoke on the phone again with President Obama, but blamed the impasse on him.
"Despite the claims that the president wants a balanced approach, the Democrats have yet to get serious about real spending cuts," Boehner said.
Insiders tell Politico the outlines of a compromise are clear.
"There's no doubt that a deal is do-able and any route to that do-ability is always going to have a bunch of huffing and puffing and posturing, and that's what you're seeing right now," says executive editor Jim VandeHei.
Both sides agree taxes will go up on the rich, but how much rates will rise depends on the deal on Medicare, and how spending will be cut on that huge and popular program.
Neither side will offer specifics, demanding the other side go first.
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