It's often said 401(k) investors, thanks to the vagaries of behavior psychology, make decisions for long-term goals based on short-term emotions (see, "The Choice 401k Investors Must Make Before They Choose"). If only they could throw away all those dangerous emotion and dispassionately decide to pick investments best suited for their time horizon.

Which got me to thinking, don't ask me how, about the current debate in Washington about this whole Fiscal Cliff thing. With virtually non-stop media coverage since, oh, I don't know, maybe at least this past summer, it's universally accepted the failure to avert the Fiscal Cliff will amount to an economic calamity of Biblical proportions.

Let's set aside this amusing thought for the moment (after all, the fundamental problem of our economy has roots much deeper than the Fiscal Cliff), and, instead, suggest a too obvious compromise that makes so much sense, it's guaranteed Washington won't even consider it. 

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Let's start with the basics. The "Fiscal Cliff" is a wonderfully catchy sound bite signifying the culmination of several simultaneous government actions beginning January 1, 2013. Here's a very general explanation. On one side of the ledger, we have taxes, specifically, the terrific trio of the end of the Bush tax cuts, the end of the payroll tax cut and the start of the Obamacare taxes. Pair this with the other side of the ledger, the automatic spending cuts prompted by the Debt-Ceiling deal of 2011. 

Many admired experts, including the infamous Ben Bernanke, insist reneging on these agreed upon actions will lead our economy back into recession. (Others, blaming Bernanke, counter we'll be doing the double dip even without taking a leap off the Fiscal Cliff.) For the sake of argument, let's assume ol' Ben is right. This puts us in pretty good company, namely, the rest of the media literati.

In which case, we ask, what must be done?

First, a review of the players. In this corner, we have the Republicans, who have traditionally championed lower taxes. In the other corner, we have the Democrats, who have never met an entitlement they didn't like.

In the post-elections negotiation, both corners have claimed receiving a "mandate" to stick to their guns. Once they got that out of their system, we've been waiting to see who would blink first.

And that prize goes to the Republicans, who appeared to have caved on their insistence that people read their lips. With "no new taxes" heading for the dustbin of history, the shoe is now on the other foot, and the nation awaits what crown jewel the Democrats with sacrifice to match the magnificence of the Republicans.

While others may bide their time for Godot's arrival, allow me to reveal the ultimate Fiscal Cliff compromise. Clearly, the Democrats don't want to cut spending and the Republicans don't want to increase taxes.

Since the Republicans have already shown their hand, Democrats might perceive the GOP has placed itself in the weaker bargaining position. (They may be right.) Obviously, the Republicans have only one singular play left in their hand: Give them an offer they can't refuse: Totally concede.

That's right. Give the Democrats everything they want on taxes. Raise 'em all! No questions asked. And don't ask for any cuts in current spending. Yep. You heard me. The Republicans should give the Democrats the whole enchilada.

With one provision.

Delay the implementation of Obamacare for four years. What's more, during this four-year interim, any company who offers health insurance benefits to its employees and which doubles its employee count over those four year will be forever exempt from Obamacare.

Consider the beauty of this compromise. We want as many people as possible to get good health care, right? We want our economy to improve, right? The compromise does both in one struck. It encourages companies to grow by removing, possibly forever, the single biggest unknown liability fear – Obamacare – and encourages hiring, while at the same time providing a major incentive for more people to receive health insurance.

And this is without spending that trillion dollars the good folks down at the Congressional Budget Office promise we'll need to spend to get Obamacare up and running.

And if, after four years, we find the economy is still sputtering, unemployment is still high and our government debt still skyrocketing, then we'll have learned two things. First, we could not have afforded Obamacare in the first place; and, second, our fiscal problems cannot be solved simply by raising taxes.

Obvious, right? We'll only if you're from flyover country.

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Christopher Carosa

Chris Carosa has been writing a weekly article and monthly column for BenefitsPRO online and BenefitsPRO Magazine since 2011 and is a nationally recognized award-winning writer, researcher and speaker. He’s written seven books, including From Cradle to Retire: The Child IRA; Hey! What’s My Number? – How to Increase the Odds You Will Retire in Comfort; A Pizza The Action: Everything I Ever Learned About Business I Learned By Working in a Pizza Stand at the Erie County Fair; and the widely acclaimed 401(k) Fiduciary Solutions. Carosa is also Chief Contributing Editor of the authoritative trade journal FiduciaryNews.com and publisher of the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, a weekly community newspaper he founded in 1989. Currently serving as President of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and with more than 1,000 articles published in various publications, he appears regularly in the national media. A “parallel” entrepreneur, he actively runs a handful of businesses, including a small boutique investment adviser, providing hands-on experience for his writing. A trained astrophysicist, he also holds an MBA and has been designated a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. Share your thoughts and story ideas with him through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christophercarosa/)and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ChrisCarosa).