US President Barack Obama has increased pressure on Republicans to accept a deal aimed at stopping the country going over a “fiscal cliff”.Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, he blamed Republicans for the deadlock, saying their “overriding theme” was protecting tax breaks for the wealthy.Congress must reach a deal by the end of the year to stop steep spending cuts and tax rises from taking effect.If they fail, taxes will significantly rise for most Americans.This has raised fears that their reduced consumer spending could trigger a US economic slowdown, which in turn could damage the global economy.The current stand-off has its roots in a failed 2011 attempt to tackle the government debt limit and budget deficit. Republicans and Democrats agreed then to postpone difficult decisions on spending until the end of 2012, and imposed a threat of compulsory cuts if no deal was reached by 31 December.That is also the date that tax cuts introduced by former President George W Bush are due to expire, though both parties want them extended for most Americans.Analysts say that even if a deal is reached on the fiscal cliff, it will do little to reduce the original problem of the deficit and government debt limit, raising the prospect of further political in-fighting early next year.Democrat Senate leader Harry Reid and his Republican counterpart Mitch McConnell have been locked in negotiations over the weekend.According to the Washington Post, they have set themselves a deadline of 15:00 local time (20:00 GMT) to reach a compromise agreement, after which they will convene caucus meetings of their members and decide whether the measure has enough support to be put to a vote.The Senate could then vote on the measure and allow the House of Representatives enough time on Monday to consider it, said the paper.In his interview, recorded on Friday and broadcast on Sunday, Mr Obama said the priority was to ensure taxes do not rise for middle-class families, saying that would “hurt our economy badly”.
