Inquirer Editorial: Fiscal cliff debate hasn't gotten scary yet

A check of the malls and Internet sales of Christmas gifts suggests consumers, too, have decided not to get too agitated over the combination of spending cuts and tax hikes that are supposed to automatically kick in next month unless Congress and the president can agree on a deficit-reduction plan.

Many apparently have decided that, while a cliff dive may be inevitable, like bungee jumping, it doesn't have to be fatal. It seems experience has taught Americans that Congress doesn't do anything until the last minute, and that its budget solutions last only long enough to grow the next fiscal crisis.

House Speaker John Boehner did finally offer an alternative to President Obama's proposal to raise tax rates for those earning more than $250,000 annually. But the Republican plan was just as vague as presidential candidate Mitt Romney's as to which tax deductions and loopholes it would close to slice the deficit. Is it any wonder people feel as if they're watching a chess game?

It's not that people don't care about falling off the fiscal cliff, but after investing so much emotion in a divisive presidential election, they are reluctant to jump right back into a fight when the antagonists are still only probing each other's vulnerability.