This Is The End

An ancient foretelling of verity
Said the world with go out with severity,
But may really impend
The recovery's end
In Washington's leap to austerity.

The Republicans' fiscal cliff diver
Advanced a proposal that neither
The White House or Senate
Would ratify when it
Was passed, which it never was, either.

One shouldn't put too much reliance
On the art of political science,
Which tends to foretell
The future as well
As the calendar made by the Mayans.

If you are reading this, then the world did not end on December 21, 2012, as predicted by the Mayan calendar. The negotiations to avoid the "fiscal cliff", however, are another story. Earlier in the week, optimism ran high as proposals advanced by House Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama were "only" $200 billion apart in long-term revenue raising.

Seemingly at the last minute, the Speaker shifted gears and announced a "Plan B" that, although rejected in advance by the White House and the Democratic-controlled Senate, had placed enough constraints on tax hikes to garner the needed support of House Republicans. In the event, the legislation was pulled due to many many of those Republicans' resistance to even modest tax increases on the very wealthy. With legislators now heading home for the holidays, it appears that Mr. Boehner's reputation as a negotiator is preceding the federal budget over the cliff.

Mayan Hashtag Hijinx

With the approach of the end of time (as predicted by the Mayan calendar), the Twittersphere has teemed with end-of-the-world confessions by those wishing to go out with a clean conscience. Believing that confession is good for the soul of even the Dismal Science, Dr. Goose - who tweets under the name of @DrGooseEcon - created a hashtag to facilitate economists' unburdening:

#EndOfTheWorldEconfessions I answered the household survey under an assumed name.

— Dr. Goose (@DrGooseEcon) December 20, 2012

Thanks to noted economist Justin Wolfers, #EndOfTheWorldEconFessions became a trending topic among the global society of Twitter econ nerds. Here then are some of the top econ-fessions on Twitter:

#EndOfTheWorldEconfessions I secretly want to make Basel I, II, and III into the best movies ever.

— Rob Blackwell (@ABWashBureau) December 20, 2012

#EndOfTheWorldEconfessions I imagine the Fed's dual mandate as a duel mandate between Ron Paul & Ben Bernanke

— Betsey Stevenson (@BetseyStevenson) December 20, 2012

I have used Venn diagrams drawn on napkins to make a point in the context of a romantic spat #EndoftheWorldEconfessions

— Matina Stevis (@MatinaStevis) December 20, 2012

Accidentally announced a Blue Light special at the discount window. #endoftheworldEconfessions

— Philadelphia Fed (@philadelphiafed) December 20, 2012

#EndofTheWorldEconfessions Sometimes I forget to maximize utility.

— Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) December 20, 2012

...and the number one econ-fession:

#EndOfTheWorldEconfessions: Every October I make early-morning prank calls to famous economists, in a convincing Swedish accent.

— Justin Wolfers (@justinwolfers) December 20, 2012