White House: "fiscal cliff" could spook holiday shoppers
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WASHINGTON -
President Obama is hitting the road to push his plan to deal with the "fiscal cliff." The White House is warning that, if there's no deal, the issue could take the cheer out of your holiday season.
Americans shopped til they dropped on Black Friday weekend, spending $59.1 billion dollars. President Obama took part, buying Christmas gifts at a Virginia bookstore on Small Business Saturday. Cyber Monday was the biggest online shopping day ever, with sales rising 30.3%.
But it's not all good news, the stock market is wavering and in a new economic report, the White House warns that these shoppers won't shop anymore if we go over the "fiscal cliff. The report estimates that consumers could spend $200 billion less next year.
The President has a plan to get his way in the negotiations:
Tuesday - Meet with small business owners from around the country
Wednesday - Host middle-class Americans at the White House
Friday - Visit a toy manufacturing facility in Hatfield, Pennsylvania.
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell is not impressed. He thinks the President should be sitting down with lawmakers to work out a bipartisan agreement.
Ohio lawmakers from both sides of the aisle said they're waiting for the President to guide the negotiations.
So as Americans continue to shop for holiday deals, Congress has just 35 days left to come up with the biggest deal of the year.
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