Does the Fiscal Cliff Need a Road Trip?

That proposal includes $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next 10 years that includes $1.6 trillion from increased taxes on those making more that $250,000 per year, $400 billion in entitlement cuts, and $50 billion in stimulus infrastructure spending. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called the proposal a “step backward, moving away from consensus and significantly closer to the cliff, delaying again the real, balanced solution that this crisis requires.”

If that $1.6 trillion revenue hike seems high, that’s because it is. Republicans were looking for a figure closer to $1 trillion that is more in line with where past discussions were headed before falling through in 2011. Some members of the Republican camp said they were outright insulted by the $1.6 trillion figure after showing willingness to put revenues on the table. The proposal does not look like it was made in the spirit of compromise, even if $1.6 trillion is a figure designed to be haggled down.

“The President has already signed into law over $1 trillion in spending cuts and we remain willing to do tough things to compromise, and it’s time for Republicans in Washington to join the chorus of other voices — from the business community to middle class Americans across the country — who support a balanced approach that asks for more from the wealthiest Americans,” Deputy White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said on Thursday.

Business leaders met with the President and members of congress before the Thanksgiving break and again this week to offer their perspective on what needs to be done. Over 80 of America’s top CEOs openly support the Campaign to Fix the Debt, a proposal somewhat in line with Obama’s tax hike on the wealthy. Executives seem be willing to accept higher taxes as the price necessary to avoid what could be another recession should America trip over the fiscal cliff.

With details of proposals from either side sometimes difficult to come by, airing the President’s plan in public will hopefully be a catalyst that moves the discussions forward.

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