US lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle demanded urgent action to keep America from falling off the so-called "fiscal cliff," and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was to drive the point home Thursday when he meets members of Congress to discuss "a balanced approach to reduce our deficit," his office said.
With the Thanksgiving holiday now a memory, consensus has swelled that a deal - either a full-blown grand bargain or part one of a multi-stage agreement - ought to be reached before tax rates rise for millions of American families and deep spending cuts bite on the first day of 2013.
Economists have said the US$500-billion amalgam of tax hikes and spending cuts required by last year's debt-ceiling deal could could pitch the US economy back towards recession next year.