Inching closer to a "fiscal cliff" deal?

Publicly, it sounded like the White House and House Republicans had gotten nowhere by Tuesday night. 

In the most recent trade of proposals between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, the White House sent its offer to the Capitol Monday and Republicans counter-offered Tuesday, after which Mr. Obama and Boehner spoke by telephone, though no details were provided.

The latest offer from the White House included $1.4 trillion in new revenue, down from its initial request of $1.6 trillion, but still $600 billion more than the $800 billion number Republicans are aiming for.

One senior GOP House source told CBS News that the $1.4 trillion offer is no more acceptable than the White House's first offer, casting it as laughable. And earlier in the day, after the White House made its latest offer and before Boehner sent his most recent counter-proposal, he took to the House floor to call out the White House for "slow walking" the negotiations.

• White House, Boehner trade new fiscal cliff proposals
• Complete coverage: The "fiscal cliff"

But, despite the public posturing, the fact that very little has leaked about the private conversations between the president and Boehner is a signal that there may be real movement behind the scenes. Publicly, however, the only news out of the latest round of negotiations is the lowering of the White House's tax revenue request and, as the Wall Street Journal reports, the news that another part of the tax code is on the table:

The White House has told Republicans it would include an overhaul of the corporate-tax code as part of any deal to reduce the deficit, people familiar with the talks said, putting a major priority for business groups on the table as part of the intensifying negotiations.

Corporate taxes hadn't until now been part of budget talks aimed at averting spending cuts and tax increases set for January. Much of the focus has instead been on the expiring individual income-tax cuts, not corporate rates. ...

As part of its budget proposal, the White House lowered its target for new tax revenue to $1.4 trillion, down from Mr. Obama's initial offer of $1.6 trillion, officials said. It also included new stimulus spending, an increase in the U.S.'s borrowing limit and a commitment to overhaul the corporate tax code in 2013, though no details were immediately available.

Meanwhile, the New York Times points out, even if Mr. Obama and Boehner clear the hurdle of coming to an agreement on how to avert the "fiscal cliff", the next hugely significant challenge will be for Boehner to get his fellow House Republicans to vote for it:

With negotiations quickening on Tuesday to prevent a year-end fiscal crisis, White House officials once again are confronting a vexing question: Can Speaker John A. Boehner deliver enough Republican votes for whatever deficit-reduction plan he and President Obama might decide?

Eighteen months ago the White House was forced to answer in the negative after secret negotiations between the two leaders collapsed once word leaked of their tentative deal, with its proposed revenue increases. But once again, Mr. Obama must put his fate in Mr. Boehner's hands on the issue that will help define the president's second term, and his legacy.

If a deal is struck and Mr. Obama and Congress avert the "fiscal cliff" before January 1, there's still more for them to worry about early next year, the Associated Press reports:

While White House and Republican congressional leaders labor behind closed doors to cut a deal to steer clear of the first cliff - mandatory tax increases and spending cuts due to hit in early January - another treacherous economic precipice looms.

It's when the government will again bump up against the congressionally-set debt ceiling. ...

The current statutory limit on the government's borrowing authority of $16.4 trillion will technically be reached in late December, but likely can be put off until mid-February through accounting maneuvers.

Obama has asked Congress for authority to raise the debt limit without prior approval. But Republicans seem unlikely to give up that bargaining chip.

Back to the imminent issue at hand, the "fiscal cliff", the president told ABC News that he's still optimistic that a deal will get done, adding that while a deal is reachable, "time is running short."

[NBGerry]

Let's go over the cliff, and remove these talking points:
1. "Bush tax cuts that only benefit the wealthy" - GONE, we all will be paying at the Clinton rates
2. "A balanced approach" - Sequester will make a huge cut in budget
3. "Pay their fair share" - We all have not been paying our 6.5% into our SS this past year, that will end 1/1/13
4. "Medicare is fully funded" - We'll see about that when docs start dropping seniors like hotcakes when their reimbursements get cut 30%.

And, I'll suggest one more thing:
A. "Millionaires and Billionaires paying less than their Secretaries" - make capital gains and dividends taxable as ordinary income, and you won't see Buffett or Romney paying 15% any more.

These are serious times people, quit with the lynch mob mentality and put on your "big boy/girl panties" and get ready for some shared sacrifice.

[thefatcat2]

NOTICE HOW THE NEWS COVERS UP THE OBAMA SWITCH.
He asked for $800 Billion in Tax Increases.
NOW OBAMA WANTS --> $1.2 Trillion Dollars JUST in New Spending.

[curtis41]

Reducing the rate of excess spending is NOT a reduction in spending. So long as this is the position of Obama and company, these "reductions" in spending are not real, and will not work or help in any significant way. This would be the basis of no deal, because a really bad deal is no deal at all. Obama is dragging his feet and is the principal obstructionist in these negotiations. The administration extreme compulsion to punish the top 2% of wage earners for their success would almost be laughable, were it not for the fact that it contains a fair number of small business people, and will actually serve to extend and prolong the recession. Now, all Americans will begin to see all the hidden taxes and reduction in services and health care for our "affordable" health care act, that turns out not to be very affordable, and will lead to a reduction and efficiency of health care delivery. It never ceases to amaze me just how uninformed or stupid voters are. The first group can be helped, but stupid is extremely hard to fix and probably take a decade just to get us out of our present fiscal insanity and reckless spending of monies we do not have, for many things we cannot afford, or do not want. All this nonsense starts when you hear the words "We are from the government, and we are here to help you." Encouraged dependency on a dysfunctional government is never very smart anyway.

[dustin93sc]

Obama preaches socialism to a desperate and impoverished American People. They are starved and weak after four years of his incompetence and obeisance to the Abu Dhabi oil cartel. The HOR should consider articles of impeachment against the flailing President. He might be in the deep end of the swimming pool.

[drunk_dan]

The Republican's will try to make people believe that everything the Government has done for the country is socialism. They will go to the people and say: "Did you see that social security check you received the other day-you thought that was good for you, didn't you? That's just too bad! That's nothing in the world but socialism. Did you see that new flood control dam the Government is building over there for the protection of your property? Sorry-that's awful socialism! That new hospital that they are building is socialism. Price supports, more socialism for the farmers! Minimum wage laws? Socialism for labor! Socialism is bad for you, my friend. Everybody knows that. And here you are, with your new car, and your home, and better opportunities for the kids, and a television set-you are just surrounded by socialism! Now the Republican's say, 'That's a terrible thing, my friend, and the only way out of this sinkhole of socialism is to vote for the Republican ticket.'"
Harry S Truman" 1947

[auburnannie]

Watch Franklin Roosevelt skewer the Republicans in 1936. He had them nailed, way back then. Guess the Republican leopards really can't change their spots:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUZGkNAUSvY

[mountainstates1]

As long as taxes are raised significantly on rich Republicans, I'm happy.

[PaulR2012]

I'll tell you why there is progress on the Fiscal Cliff. America's action heroes (Stallone, Carl Weathers, Schwarzenegger) have merged on DC to take this Fiscal Cliff on themselves. Don't believe me? Watch this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmw69rIuCww

It's true!

[josephp5]

We have a revenue problem, not a spending problem.

Republicans have taught their minions to repeat the opposite like parrots. But it's not true. Spending has not gone up significantly under Obama. But what happened is that Bush collapsed the economy, so that poor people don't have jobs anymore and therefore don't pay taxes. And thanks to two rounds of Bush tax cuts, the wealthy don't pay taxes anymore either!

So let's go over the cliff! And then the US can start making enough to pay for things we need---like regulators to keep banks from gambling with other people's money and oil companies from drilling deep water wells without a working blowout preventer.

[stephand]

Joseph: If you think we have a revenue problem you really have not looked at the size and scope of the deficit vs. the available tax revenues - even if you take ALL the rich people's money! We need about $9 in cuts vs. $1 in Revenue.

[BBould]

Sorry but your statement is wrong spending has increased as shown below.
2005 2.5t, 06 2.6t, 07 2.7t, 08 3t, 09 3.5t, 10 3.5t, 11 3.6t, 12 3.8t

And you do remember that President Obama said he would reduce our deficit by 1/2 by the end of his first term?

We the people are being taken to the cleaners by both sides of the aisle. They are dividing our ideas and pitting us against one another to obfuscate what they are actually doing with our money.

[jdaryyl]

Ok, so let me get this right... is there supposed to be a difference between republicans and democrats when it comes to policy regarding Goldman Sachs, the CFR, the United Nations, the Military Industrial Complex, the Pharmaceutical Complex, MONSANTO, Israel, Muslims, overall Conlflics of Interest and the FED?

[wizardlady]

Let the PUGS go over the fiscal cliff along with the rest of us. If the POTUS does not display his crystals this time around, the next four years is going to be just four years of more do-nothing battles within the government. The voters spoke with his re-election, now it is all in his hands to carry out their mandate.......stop the RICH 2% from controlling and destroying this country......stop them any way possible.

It is time to start looking toward the 2014 elections and prepare for some new faces to replace those in Congress who no longer represent THE people but worship their selective rich supporters. It must be done!

[empirebuilder]

Cannot agree that the "rich" are taking us over the cliff. It is lack of leadership and failure to make tough decisions. Obama and his political agenda have blinded him from his role as president of all of the US. The mandate of the people was to get this fixed by compromise, not tricks, not bully tactics, not politics, but sound hard reasoning and a solid action plan to correct this dismal math. Ego and arrogance trump intelligence and maturity.

[omnibus66]

The "rich" are the protectorate of the republicans, and therefore are the ones dragging us toward, and presumably over, the cliff. The pugs evidently are willing to put everything good about this country on the line in order to save their gods from a relatively small tax increase.

[josephp5]

Obama said over and over during the campaign that he believed the low tax rates for people making over $250K should not be extended. And he won decisively! So why would you think the mandate from the people is that he should now compromise? It's the Republicans that are employing bully tactics. They want to blackmail all people into paying higher rates, not extending unemployment rates, cutting Medicare and Social Security (which have nothing to do with the debt incidentally)---all to get those low tax rates for the rich! The Republicans only care about the rich.