Dec 11, 8:45 AM EST
Voter disdain spreads as 'fiscal cliff' looms
By STEVE PEOPLES
Associated Press
HOOKSETT, N.H. (AP) -- Fear and frustration course through the lunch crowd at Robie's Country Store and Deli, a popular outpost 500 miles from where Washington is again locked in tense negotiations over taxes and spending as a critical deadline looms.
"I'm worried," Lorraine Cadren of nearby Manchester says between bites of her chicken sandwich. Her doubt in the nation's elected leaders is palpable: "I'm not sure what's going to come out of Washington next." Not that she has the time to pay much attention; the 64-year-old is unemployed and preoccupied with finding a new job as Christmas approaches.
A few tables away, John Pfeifle shares Cadren's angst while trying to enjoy his $6.99 chicken parmesan special.
"Somebody's gotta have some smarts," says the 63-year-old business owner, complaining that both President Barack Obama and House Republicans seem willing to allow the nation to go over the "fiscal cliff," triggering broad tax increases and massive spending cuts that economists warn could lead to another recession.
"I have no faith at all they'll do the right thing," Pfeifle said of Congress.
much more at
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FISCAL_CLIFF_DISCONNECT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-12-11-08-45-31FCMA (Fiscal cliff, my ass).