Fiscal cliff discussions continued Monday between the White House and Speaker John Boehner’s staff, according to Boehner’s spokesman Michael Steel. Neither side is releasing details about the discussion, but the Speaker’s office reported the Republican offer from last week is still on the table and Boehner is waiting for “the president to identify the spending cuts he’s willing to make as part of the ‘balanced’ approach.’”
Both Democrats and Republicans have been wary about outlining specific cuts to entitlement programs. This morning Erskine Bowles, the former chief of staff for President Clinton and co-author of the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction proposal, told msnbc, “On entitlements, I don’t see why the president would want to negotiate with himself on this.”
Perhaps the biggest news from the past two days of negotiations is how little information has leaked. The mutual cooperation may be a sign of progress in itself, and in that case, no news is good news. Watch the video above for the full discussion between Alex Wagner and her panel on the status on the fiscal cliff, and what elements each side will need to sacrifice to find common ground.
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