Cliff Notes

It may be more exciting than watching paint dry or even the NHL cancel another few games.   The it is of course the latest spectacle in Washington.  The folks in charge of the national do-nothing alliance are now exerting maximum effort to claim that the other side is not working hard enough to avoid the rapidly approaching fiscal cliff.

If the do-nothings actually fail to reach any type of a deal, 2013 will greet almost all of us with substantially higher taxes and mandated cuts to numerous government programs including defense and Medicare.  The purpose of the budget agreement that comes due at year's end was to ensure that both sides would be compelled to avoid its implementation and work toward a better solution.  It was an official do-nothing solution, designed with the stated intention of never being fully implemented. 

Consensus is that, if not avoided, the cliff will trigger economic slowdown and another trip through deep recession.  Although there is most likely going to be a New Years Eve postponement, we could be looking at a really ugly beginning to 2013.  Be mindful that there could be a pseudo-deal which effectively disguises the fact that the do-nothings have extended their streak.  If the postponement is more than three months, we will be well on the way to 2014 campaigning.  Won't that be exciting?  

Another recession could extinguish the light that has rekindled the real estate market.  Housing issues precipitated the last economic disaster, and housing is leading our nation through recovery.  By continuing to play their political games, the do-nothings are dangerously close to snuffing out housing recovery.