In the United States, attempts to tackle the country's debt crisis has ended in disagreement. <br /><br />The House of Representatives has rejected a Republican party plan to avoid the so-called 'Fiscal Cliff'.<br /><br />The fiscal clif is a series of tax increases and spending cuts due to come into force on January 1, 2013. <br /><br />The deadline was imposed in 2011 to forece the president and congress to agree on ways to trim a big budget deficit over the next 10 years. <br /><br />The cliff will be averted if the can reach a deal before January 1.<br /><br />The fear is that raising taxes while massively cutting spending could push the US into recession with knock on effects for the rest of the world. <br /><br />Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane reports from Washington.
