President Barack Obama is hailing a last-minute deal that pulled the country back from the “fiscal cliff,” but warned that he “will not compromise” over his insistence that Congress lift the federal debt ceiling.
It’s the scenario that’s been spooking employers and investors and slowing the U.S. economy: Congress and the White House fail to strike a budget deal by New Year’s Day. Their stalemate triggers sharp tax increases and spending cuts. Those measures shrink consumer spending, stifle job growth, topple stock prices and push the economy off a “fiscal cliff” and into recession.
