Ah, the “fiscal cliff.” If you’re like us, you hope the buzzword buzzes out of the national conversation, and that a resolution to the issue is soon found. Unfortunately, the phrase and the variety of uncertainties that the fiscal cliff is forcing upon the economy and your business are here to stay until a compromise is reached. So, we wanted to know, with all the hype and media coverage, exactly how worried are our readers about the fiscal cliff? The answer is clear; nobody likes the idea of falling off a cliff.

We asked: How worried are you about the fiscal cliff, and why?

Reader responses: (via a Business Record poll)

Dan McCarty, President, QA Graphics
5: Both parties are not bringing plans to the table that are reasonable to negotiate. They seem to forget who they work for.

Kurt Schade, Broker Associate, Coldwell Banker Mid-America Group Realtors
7: I think our government will come to a compromise to avoid this drastic action. HOWEVER, I feel they are doing as they have done on the past. Kicking the can down the road of addressing too much government regulation and overspending. I feel the pain of such by “taxpaying citizens” will be significant and it will be soon!

Gene Nelsen, President, Nelsen Appraisal Associates Inc.
9: It will cost me more money than ever to be “gifted” to those that do not deserve it by an inefficient and incapable government system. I would rather (and do) gift the money directly to those that deserve it by working hard, or are trying, or are at a disadvantage through no fault of their own (illness or disability).

Ken Benkstein, Senior Counselor, The Meyocks Group
7: If the rascals in Congress kick the can down the road, my grandchildren will pay a terrible price. Plus, it creates uncertainty among business people who have to decide where and whether to invest in the future.

Jesse Bunney, Sales Associate, CBRE/Hubbell Commercial Real Estate
8: I’m scared of fiscal disaster, higher taxes and uncontrolled government spending, that will affect my ability to help companies plan for their future needs.

Jamie Buelt, Principal, en Q strategies LLC
6: I am concerned that if both sides allow for automatic cuts in spending and automatic increases in revenues to go into effect, the blame game will exacerbate and perpetuate further gridlock between the parties as well as between the President and Congress. Doing nothing, I fear, will only serve to codify the antagonistic atmosphere already so pervasive in Washington.

Kevin Crowley, Commercial Manager, Iowa Realty Commercial
9: The potential threat of a 3 to 4% hit to the GDP would be a devastating blow to the general economy.

Elizabeth A. Quinn-Loffredo, President, Access Control Technologies Inc.
5: As always, I am worried that once again, it will be the small businesses that will suffer. It’s about time that large businesses share in what we have to go through once again like we have been doing through this whole recession.