Via CBS News:
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi doubled down today on a White House pledge to go over the so-called “fiscal cliff” in the absence of a deal that includes tax hikes for the wealthy, telling reporters that “If there’s no agreement, we go over the cliff.”
Yesterday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the White House is”absolutely” prepared to go over “cliff” should negotiations fail to yield a deal ends Bush-era cuts for household incomes above $250,000 per year.
“There is no prospect [for] an agreement that doesn’t involve rates going up on the top two percent of the wealthiest Americans,” Geithner told CNBC. “What we need to see is have them acknowledge that they are prepared to see rates go up. And if they are willing to accept that, and commit to that as part of an agreement, then we think we can do something really good for the American economy.”
Asked about the statement in a press conference today, Pelosi said she saw Geithner’s comment not as a threat but as a “statement of fact.”
“I saw it as a statement of fact. It’s not a threat, it’s a prediction,” Pelosi said. “If there is no agreement, then the fiscal cliff has to be dealt with… Let’s hope that we can have an agreement.”
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