Fiscal Cliff 2013: Colbert Says to Brace for Impact

Culture

Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert, from The Colbert Report, addressed the ongoing fiscal cliff drama on his program last night. 

He introduced the thorny subject as a reminder that even when "it's the [joyful] Christmas season, there's always something out there that scares us." 

"When the clock strikes midnight on new year's eve, you can kiss your date, and our economy goodbye, because we all will be falling off the dreaded fiscal cliff," he warned before presenting a collage of various reporters and news anchors warning Americans about the fiscal cliff. 

Colbert then explained how "we got here." According to the host of The Colbert Report, in 2011, the Republicans wanted to address our budgets woes by cutting spending, while President Obama was for raising taxes. "This is a problem that Congress solved ... by not solving it," he added. 

"And, as a result we're facing another thing called ... sequestration," Colbert continued, explaining that the term means "automatic spending cuts both sides agree would trigger a new recession." 

He then took on Obama, who "supposedly ran on the promise of raising taxes on the wealthy," something Colbert said Republicans will probably let him do despite the party's anti-tax pledge they almost universally signed to appease the president of Americans for Tax Reform Grover Norquist (cue thunderstorm effects).

Watch the video below: