Opening Statement from the January 2013 Intelligent Investor (Part 1)

Fiscal cliff negotiations turned out to be a disaster. As you will recall, the fiscal cliff referred to automatic expiration of numerous tax breaks and expenditures. It was meant to serve as an economic emergency brake to address medium-term deficit and budget issues in case Washington did not act to alleviate expenditures on its own. Instead of allowing expenditures and tax breaks to expire, Washington essentially abolished the cliff and made a few minor tweaks.