Fiscal cliff forces republicans and democrats to work together

The new year brings the same crew of cooks in the nation's kitchen, each with different recipes for how to whip up a menu of fiscal change that will satisfy the nation without burning

down the house. After a $6 billion campaign and a post-election tug-of-war, President Obama still sits at one end of Pennsylvania Avenue, with a Republican-majority House and

Democratic-controlled Senate at the other end. Financial markets and public opinion have made it clear they want leaders to work through four potent dishes — reducing the debt, energizing

the economy, implementing the health care law and actually cooperating. REASONS TO BE HOPEFUL As the president begins his second term and Congress reconvenes this month, a unique blend of

motivation and opportunity exists in abundance. For one thing, none of the Washington politicians has to worry about partisan elections this year. For another, countries such as Greece and

Spain have shown the sorts of social and economic upheaval that result when a nation doesn't preemptively tackle its fiscal imbalances. With that dynamic, "it's possible to

get some things done now that were not possible before," says Allan Meltzer, professor of political economy at Carnegie Mellon University and a fellow at the Hoover Institution. Few

people understand the issues better than G. William Hoagland, a senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center. For 33 years, Hoagland worked on Capitol Hill, with a unique vantage

point as staff director of the Senate Budget Committee and as a top aide to former Senate Republican leader Bill Frist. Hoagland says that he has never seen so many crucial issues come

together at once — including the temporary budget that runs out in March, the need to raise the nation's debt limit and the "fiscal cliff" deadline. The fiscal problems are so

big and so fraught, he says, the two parties will finally be forced to work together for a change. "It's going to force us back into the old bipartisan way in which we used to get

work done around here," he says. "I see coming out of this better policies to address the challenges our country faces." Republicans and Democrats each have favorite

ingredients — the GOP is pushing for cuts to spending, including Medicare and Social Security, and Democrats want higher taxes for the wealthy. An _AARP Bulletin_ poll found public support

for raising taxes to close the deficit, strengthen Medicare and Social Security, and finance schools and highways, but skepticism that agreement can be struck. The coming months will show

whether lawmakers can compromise to come up with what many experts say is needed — a federal budget that is $4 trillion smaller over the next 10 years than the $44 trillion it would be under

current law. Now is the time for action. If the two sides don't come to an agreement, the consequences are significant. "Debt will continue to balloon. We are borrowing one-third

of everything we spend right now," says Isabel Sawhill, a budget expert at the Brookings Institution.