They’re sure in no hurry to steer away from the fiscal cliff.
President Obama and Republicans in Congress will kick off talks this week to tackle the upcoming fiscal-cliff deadline, which would let Bush-era tax cuts expire and lead to deep cuts to federally funded programs.
The first meeting is set for Friday. But given a Jan. 1 deadline, Obama and Congress are expected to stretch the talks out for several weeks.
A sure sign of delay is Obama’s plan to set off to Southeast Asia for a four-day tour that starts Saturday.
Obama stuck to his guns yesterday on his plans to deal with the looming budget crisis, saying he will refuse to make cuts favored by Republicans if they don’t agree to tax hikes for those earning more than $250,000 a year.
“I will not ask students or seniors or middle-class families to pay down the entire deficit while people making over $250,000 a year aren’t asked to pay a dime more in taxes,” he said in his weekly Internet address.