Tonight John Boehner, Speaker of the House, was unable to obtain a vote in favor of his “Plan B” to avoid the fiscal cliff.  This is surprising to me as the only people who would experience a raise in their marginal tax rates would be those with annual taxable incomes of over $1 million.

So Mr. Boehner confirmed to everyone that he does not speak for the Republican Party caucus when it comes to tax and budget legislation.  This leaves one slim chance for the Democrats to prevent falling of the cliff.  To accomplish this will require some Republican congressmen along with some Democratic congressmen that would result in a majority.  It is the opportunity for the President to push through legislation that would be more favorable to him with some compromise.

This can only happen with GOP participation.  That is the big “IF.”  The consequence of failure will be some sad days in January.

There is one thing we know.  This entire situation was caused by our broken political system.  Not just American but the rest of the world is wondering, what has happened to the United States?