Wall Street Journal (12/14/12) Sudeep Reddy

The drawn-out fight over the fiscal cliff could temper growth in 2013 due to a potential lack of business and consumer confidence. Furthermore, the chances are low that a deal would avert every component of the fiscal cliff, and any one of the key components could curb growth. “The natural tendency is to view this as an on/off type of risk—you either have it or you don’t,” says IHS Global Insight economist Gregory Daco. “The reality is you have multiple pieces.” The cliff discussions are taking place at the same time as the slowing of the global economy. The result could be another year of anemic U.S. growth and high unemployment.