CBO: ‘Fiscal cliff’ deal carries $4 trillion price tag over next decade  —  The Senate deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff” will add roughly $4 trillion to the deficit when compared to current law, according to new numbers from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Senate Passes Tax Increases on Wealthy Americans  —  WASHINGTON - The Senate, in a pre-dawn vote two hours after the deadline passed to avert automatic tax increases, overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday that would allow tax rates to rise only on affluent Americans …

House Takes On Fiscal Cliff  —  As the new year began on Tuesday, Congressional efforts to head off tax increases on most working Americans shifted to the House, where members began to pore over details of a plan passed by the Senate in the early morning hours as Republican leaders began …

Say Yes to the Mess  —  The fiscal cliff deal that the Senate passed early this morning is ridiculous in too many ways to count.  There seem to be no figures from the Congressional Budget Office and only “very preliminary” figures from the Joint Tax Committee about the real spending and revenue implications.

Boehner's 100 loyal soldiers might give him political cover on ‘fiscal cliff’  —  Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) has about 100 Republican members he can count on if and when the Senate-passed “fiscal-cliff” bill hits the House floor, according to an analysis by The Hill.

Senate Democrats will reject House changes to tax bill, aides say  —  Senate Democratic leaders say they will reject any House effort to amend a fiscal cliff deal that passed the upper chamber with overwhelming support on New Year's Day.  —  “The House Republicans have two choices …

Another Fiscal Flop  —  Over the course of the 20th century, America built its welfare state.  It was, by and large, a great achievement, expanding opportunity and security for millions.  Unfortunately, as the population aged and health care costs surged, it became unaffordable.

FISCAL CLIFF DEAL: $1 IN SPENDING CUTS FOR EVERY $41 IN TAX INCREASES  —  According to the Congressional Budget Office, the last-minute fiscal cliff deal reached by congressional leaders and President Barack Obama cuts only $15 billion in spending while increasing tax revenues by $620 billion …