Will Obama and Congress Avoid the Fiscal Cliff?

With President Barack Obama reelected to a second term and Congress set to reconvene after Veterans Day, all eyes in Washington are set on the January 1 fiscal cliff when billions in spending cuts and tax increases will go into effect.

Addressing reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner spoke of bipartisanship and went on to say he wants to act quickly.

"I want to work together," he said. "But I want everyone also to understand, you can’t push us around."

Despite his diplomatic attitude, the question on many people's minds is whether the same president and same divided Congress have the political will to end the gridlock that's hampered any action to avert the fiscal cliff.

This week on WNYC's Money Talking, contributors Rana Foroohar of Time magazine and Joe Nocera of the New York Times discuss if there's anything in the election results that signal a change to the no-compromise attitudes of the past. 

They also weigh in on what will happen if the country does plunge over the fiscal cliff.