It's official: Deal reached on “fiscal cliff”  —  As revelers in Times Square and cities and towns across the country wait for the ball to drop to ring in the new year, politicians in Washington have announced that a ball is not likely to drop on the average taxpayer.

Why the White House thinks it's winning the ‘fiscal cliff’  —  Consider the ongoing fiscal cliff negotiations from the White House's perspective.  —  The specifics of the potential McConnell-Biden deal are fluid, but the bottom line, at the moment, seems to be this: It raises taxes …

Fiscal Cliff Deal Reached: White House, Hill Leaders Agree To Delay Sequester By Two Months … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Harry Reid , John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama , Barack Obama , Video, 2012 Fiscal Cliff, Harry Reid Fiscal Cliff, US Fiscal Cliff, Fiscal Cliff, Fiscal Cliff 2012 …

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Here's what Republicans really hated about Obama's news conference  —  President Obama's cheerful, mocking statement enraged Republicans.  But the bigger problem is he said something Republican leaders have been trying to hide from their members.  Obama said, clearly, that if the GOP wants …

Senate to hold New Year's Eve vote on Biden-GOP fiscal cliff deal  —  The Senate will vote on legislation to extend tax rates on annual income under $450,000 on New Year's Eve.  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the vote would be held after a Congressional Budget Office score …

Conceder In Chief?  —  OK, I've had my own sorta-kinda briefing on the apparent fiscal cliff deal, and I'm pretty much with Noam Scheiber.  Viewed on its own, it's a bad and upsetting deal but not as terrible as initial rumors had it.  But the strategic consequences are likely to be very bad indeed, and in very short order too.

Obama Fiscal Cliff Remarks Spark Republican Threats To Blow Up Deal … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Congress Fiscal Cliff, Fiscal Cliff 2012, Fiscal Cliff Deal, Fiscal Cliff Negotiations, Fiscal Cliff Talks, John Boehner Fiscal Cliff, Mitch Mcconnell Fiscal Cliff, Obama Fiscal Cliff, Obama Fiscal Cliff Remarks, Politics News

U.S. Budget Deal Is Sealed  —  The White House and Senate Republicans are closing in on a budget compromise that would raise tax rates on couples making more than $450,000 a year, increase taxes on large inheritances and extend unemployment benefits for a year.

The Estate Tax Is a Huge Giveaway in the Fiscal-Cliff Talks  —  It will cost us $375 billion over the next decade if we keep the estate tax from going back to its Clinton-era levels.  That's twice the savings from switching to chained CPI.  —  (Reuters)  —  It's time to talk …