The worst-case scenario is if Congress stands by and lets the fiscal cliff stay in effect all next year. Economists expect the U.S. economy would then fall into a recession. Specifically, the Congressional Budget Office forecasts a drop of 0.5% in real gross domestic product and a 9.1% unemployment rate by the end of next year. The good news is that no one expects Congress to let all fiscal cliff measures have their way with the economy for an extended period. But there could still be an economic hit if lawmakers push the country over the fiscal cliff temporarily and then pass a fallback bill -- one that mostly just averts some of the tax increases. Read more http://money.cnn.com/2012/12/27/news/economy/fiscal-cliff-economy/index.html?source=cnn_bin
