OVERNIGHT MONEY: Deal or no deal

FRIDAY'S BIG STORY:

Well, no deal ... Just to recap, congressional leaders and the White House haven't really changed their minds about where they stand on tax increases and spending cuts as the "fiscal cliff" looms.

That fact was crystal clear on Thursday, if it wasn't already. 

As this point, lawmakers might want to consider constructing a big slide to take them to the bottom of the cliff. Easier than jumping. 

Anyway, the day did end with a bit of a bang when Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) roundly rejected a White House offer of $1.6 trillion in tax increases, $400 billion in spending cuts and a permanent increase in the debt ceiling.

The president's first official proposal, hand-delivered by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Rob Nabors, the White House's top legislative adviser, landed with a thud heard round the Capitol. 

“If the president is going to lead on this critical issue, he has to propose a plan that can actually pass. This is simply not a serious proposal," said Sen. Roy Blunt (Mo.).

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) suggested that House Republicans offer up their proposal. 

“If House Republicans consider the President’s budget a ‘new’ offer, then we await their counteroffer. The ball is now in their court to state what they would do on entitlements and taxes. They have given no specifics so far.”

Geither and Nabors spent most of the day in offices of all four leaders — Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

In the end, Thursday seemed mostly filled with door-slamming.

After meeting with Geithner, Boehner said there had been “no substantive progress” in the negotiations since leaders met with President Obama about two weeks ago.

He said there was no way Republicans would accept any tax increases and he suggested that the White House “get serious” and offer up specific spending cuts.

McConnell (R-Ky.) echoed those comments after his meeting with the Treasury secretary, saying that Obama should stop campaigning and get down to the business of crafting a solution. 

Obama heads to Pennsylvania on Friday to hawk his tax plan — letting tax breaks expire for those making $250,000 a year and higher — to the public. 

The White House jumped into the fray by reiterating on Thursday there will be no deficit deal unless Republicans agree to raise tax rates.

So there was no budging on that front. 

Pelosi then pushed back hard against Republican dissertations that Democrats have failed to offer specific cuts and suggested, along with Senate Democrats, that Republicans provide more specifics for their plan to generate new revenue and rework entitlement spending. 

Leader Reid (D-Nev.) said he didn't understand why there was such a big disconnect between himself and Boehner, and pressed for House Republicans to offer more specifics on what should be part of an agreement.

“I don’t understand his brain, so you should ask him,” Reid said.

LOOSE CHANGE

New blood: The House GOP Steering Committee approved six new members for the powerful House Appropriations Committee on Thursday. Reps. Jamie Herrera Beutler (Wash.), Chuck Fleischmann (Tenn.), Jeff Fortenberry (Neb.) and Tom Rooney (Fla.), as well as freshmen David Joyce (Ohio) and David Valadao (Calif.), will be on the roster next year. None of the members are bomb throwers likely to challenge Chairman Hal Roger (R-Ky.) in the way that Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) has over the past two years. Flake will join the Senate in January. 

ECONOMIC INDICATORS 

Personal income: The Commerce Department releases October figures on personal income, which measures income from all sources. The largest component of total income is wages and salaries, which is estimated using payrolls and earnings data from the employment report.

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

— White House: Deduction cap not enough revenue

— House Dems introduce bill merging SEC, CFTC

— Baucus: At least $1 trillion needed in cliff deal

— Sen. Johnson strongly suggests 2014 reelection bid

— Pending home sales hit five-year high

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