Fiscal cliff

The BBC has a decent primer on the so-called "fiscal cliff" now being negotiated in Washington. Of particular note are the concluding remarks in the primer, mentioning what a budget plan authored by the American people would look like:

What are people willing to accept as part of a grand deal? According to a poll published last week by Slate, conducted by YouGov of 1,000 Americans, what citizens are prepared to accept are "higher taxes, cuts in government services, and military downsizing" while preserving Medicare and social security. This, clearly, is not being discussed.

I've read a fair amount on the current fiscal cliff issue, and that last sentence is the best journalism on the subject I've seen yet.

BBC Primer
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20853688

Slate poll
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/12/the_best_polling_on_how_americans_want_to_fix_the_budget_and_avert_the_fiscal.html