Geithner: 'Absolutely' willing to go off the fiscal cliff

[link to www.politico.com]

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Wednesday that the Obama administration was prepared to dive off the fiscal cliff if Republicans do not agree to raise tax rates on upper income brackets.

Geithner was asked on CNBC: "When it comes to raising taxes on the wealthy, those making more than $250,000 — if Republicans do not agree to that, is the administration prepared to go over the fiscal cliff?"

"Oh, absolutely," Geithner replied. "There's no prospect in an agreement that doesn't involve the rates going up on the top 2 percent of the wealthiest."

"The size of the problem in some sense is so large it can't be solved without rates going up," Geithner said about the country's fiscal challenges. "I think there's a broad recognition of that reality now."

Last Edited by Carshy McCarsh on 12/06/2012 01:54 PM