Geithner willing to go over cliff over taxes

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday that the Obama administration was willing to allow the economy to go over the fiscal cliff if Republicans did not agree to raise tax rates on the wealthy
In an interview with CNBC, Geithner drew a harder line in the sand than the White House previously has articulated
"There is no prospect of an agreement that doesn't involve those rates going up on the top 2%," he said
The Treasury Secretary repeated President Barack Obama's tough line that he would not negotiate with Republicans if they held the economy "hostage" to threats that the debt ceiling would not be lifted
At the same time, Geithner tried to sound optimistic that the two sides would reach a deficit-reduction framework
"I think you see the broad outlines of a framework now look more inevitable," he added
Reports to the contrary were "orchestrated drama."