Yes, there will be big spending cuts – which will hit defense contractors, doctors with Medicare patients, and all who benefit from or rely on government discretionary spending – and substantial tax increases. But, to balance the budget in the long run, either taxes have to go up or spending has to go down relative to some baseline, or both.
那么民众为什么对平安跨过财政悬崖的前景并不热衷？是的，我们需要大幅削减开支——而这将打击国防承包商、为联邦医疗保险（Medicare）患者看病的医生和受惠于政府可自由支配开支的所有人——同时大幅增加税收。但为实现长期预算平衡，税收必须相对于一定基准上升而开支则必须下降，或者两者兼而有之。