The elementsofa compromiseon taxesare already in place: permanent extensionof the middle-classtaxcuts, plusa temporary extensionof the upper-income tax cuts.
The other three scenarios include: going over the fiscal cliff with no compromise, going over the cliff with some middle-class tax cuts, or an agreement with a high degree of partisan divide but some compromise.
As the narrative of the fight for the middle class in the fiscal cliff debate was inextricably linked to this number, this begs the question of how the middle class will fare in light of the need to compromise.