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When Will It End? - The more things change, the more they stay the same. President Obama and congressional Republicans continue to draw their lines in the sand on taxes, spending cuts and the debt ceiling. So far there have been two measures to keep the nation from an economic freefall. But they are only temporary, short-term fixes and there is much work left to do. As Americans wait, watch and worry about their own pocketbooks, here's the who, what and why of what's going on. — Joyce Jones (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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What Is a Fiscal Cliff? - Fiscal cliff is a term used for the economic crisis that could occur if, on Dec. 31, a series of temporary tax cuts are allowed to expire and huge, across-the-board spending cuts are implemented.(Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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How Did We Get Here? - Obama and congressional leaders struck a deal in July 2011 to extend Bush-era tax cuts and other measures, such as the payroll tax cut, designed to boost the economy and to find $1 trillion in savings over 10 years to reduce the federal deficit in exchange for Republican support to raise the debt ceiling. If the savings aren't found, automatic, across-the-board spending cuts and higher taxes for everyone will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2013. (Photo: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

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Kicking the Can - The House passed a bill on Jan. 24 to temporarily diffuse the debt ceiling crisis until May. Republican lawmakers abandoned their plan to tie raising the debt to spending cuts, but debates over that, taxes and spending loom. Photo: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Hardball - GOP lawmakers for a while weighed a government shutdown to force Obama to agree to spending cuts and allowing the nation to default on its debt. The president in his last first-term press conference warned Republican lawmakers about playing politics with the economy and said he will not negotiate with them over the debt ceiling.(Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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A Deal for Now - Congress passed an 11th hour bill on Jan. 2 that saves middle- and low-income Americans from paying higher taxes. It extends federal unemployment benefits but ended the payroll tax holiday. The bill also delays for two months automatic spending cuts to domestic programs and the Defense Department's budget.  (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

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The Sit Down - With just a few days left, Obama and congressional leaders planned to meet at the White House on Dec. 28 in a last-ditch effort to pull the nation away from the fiscal cliff. Each side is struggling to compromise, but is under pressure from the American public to just make a deal. Who jumps first?(Photo: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

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Stalemate - In a Dec. 27 conference call with Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner stood firm on his position that the Senate should amend bills already passed in the House that would avert the fiscal cliff, ABC News reports. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called for the House to support a bill already passed by the Senate. (Photos from left: Alex Wong/Getty Images, Kent Nishimura-Pool/Getty Images, Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Home Alone - President Obama cut short his annual Christmas vacation in Hawaii to return to Washington Dec. 27 to resume negotiations. The Senate also returned to session that day. House lawmakers will reconvene on Dec. 30, and are preparing to work through Jan. 2.(Photo: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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Times a' Ticking - After Boehner failed to move his Plan B proposal through the House, Obama on Dec. 21, set a 10-day deadline for Congress to pass "a package that prevents a tax hike on middle-class Americans, protects unemployment insurance for 2 million Americans and lays the groundwork for further work on both growth and deficit reduction."(Photo: DPA/Landov)

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Plan Big Fail - In an embarrassing setback, Boehner was unable to rally enough Republican support for his Plan B proposal to raise taxes on incomes of $1 million and above. He had hoped to use the measure as leverage to force Obama to increase his $400,000 income threshold, but instead Boehner was forced to cancel a planned vote on Plan B. (Photo: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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How Large Would Automatic Tax Increases Be? - Individuals will see their income tax rates increase by approximately 3 to 5 percent. The current lowest income tax rate would rise from 10 percent to 15 percent; the highest rate would rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent.(Photo: Tim Boyle/Getty Images)

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What Does This Mean to My Wallet? - According to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center, households earning an average income of $11,239, $29,204, $49,842 and $80,080 will see their taxes increase by $412, $1,231, $1984 and $3,540, respectively. (Photo: Getty Images)

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Will Other Taxes Rise? - A temporary expansion of the earned income tax credit, the tax credit for working families, and a tax credit for college tuition in the president's 2009 economic stimulus package also would end.(Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

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What Kinds of Spending Cuts Will Be Made? - The budgets for domestic programs and for defense will each face an automatic cut of $55 billion.(Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

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How Will Cuts Impact Entitlement Programs? - Unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless would be cut by $26 billion. A broad range of programs, in such areas as education, health, homeland security and infrastructure repairs would be cut, as well as housing and food assistance programs for low-income people. (Photo: Getty Images)

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Are Any Entitlement Programs Exempt From Cuts? - Social Security, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, food stamps, the children's health insurance program, refundable tax credits, veterans' benefits and military personnel would be exempt from automatic cuts. They are not immune from changes during budget negotiations, however. (Photo: AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)

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What Will Be the Impact on the Economy? - The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and other experts say that economic growth would slow and unemployment would increase significantly. (Photo: Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

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Why Won't Lawmakers Just Make a Deal? - Republicans insist that the temporary tax cuts made during the George W. Bush administration be made permanent and that cuts be made to Medicare, Medicaid and discretionary domestic programs. Democrats want to combine higher taxes on top earners with spending cuts.(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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What Happens If There's No Deal by Dec. 31? - Lawmakers could come to some sort of temporary agreement that includes cuts and revenue increases to buy themselves a few months. But that would just be putting off the inevitable with the added cost of much-needed political capital for both sides. (Photo: Reuters/Max Whittaker)