Obama-CEOs meeting expected to be tense

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CNN/Money:

 

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- Top American CEOs will meet with President Obama on Wednesday to talk about the fiscal cliff.

Among those making the trek to the White House are General Electric(GE, Fortune 500) CEO Jeffrey Immelt and American Express (AXP,Fortune 500) CEO Kenneth Chenault.

 

 

 

It would be Obama's first public meeting with major CEOs since being reelected, and it's expected to be tense.

 

That's because the fiscal cliff is the number one issue facing the nation and leaders of the largest companies have indicated that they are holding back hiring and spending because they are worried about Washington gridlock over the fiscal cliff.

 

Moreover, some of these companies flexed their political muscle to defeat Democrats in the latest election.

 

The stakes are high for the president and Congress to find a consensus to avoid the fiscal cliff, which economists and CEOs agree would devastate the economy, taking down thousands of jobs and increasing taxes for millions of Americans.

At the end of this year, the George W. Bush-era tax cuts are set to expire, and on Jan. 2, automatic spending cuts will commence that amount to $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years.