Fiscal cliff deal falls a long way short of what is needed

The fiscal cliff deal approved by both Houses of Congress to avert most of the scheduled tax increases is better than nothing, but it didn’t include a provision to raise the debt ceiling, and the scheduled spending cuts have only been delayed for two months. Given the cantankerous nature of the negotiations over the past ten days it is now very possible that we will see another stand-off over those spending cuts and the debt ceiling that leads to a shutdown of the Federal government by late February or early March. Out of the frying pan, into the fire.