The Congressional Budget Office warns that the scheduled tax increases and spending cuts slated for next year affectionately known as "the fiscal cliff" would in fact lead to a recession, according to their newly released analysis. So, if you weren't already worried by those who refer to it as a "fiscal cliff" a "fiscal time bomb" or "taxmageddon," (and they are legion) maybe this added point of warning will be the last straw to get you stressed out.

To be fair, Congress has until the end of the year to agree on just how they're going to modify the automatic repeal of the Bush tax cuts and the spending cuts triggered by last year's debt ceiling agreement. The CBO's report finds that the higher taxes and lower government spending, if left untouched, would reduce the deficit but trigger a recession in 2013. The CBO is by no means the first to suggest that this would be bad -- hence the "fiscal cliff" name -- but it is a well-respected bipartisan authority so expect to see their warning cited as we all wonder how best to avoid the cliff/timebomb/apocalypse.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at erandall at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.