Budget Talks

These budget cliffs the United States keeps approaching and narrowly avoiding is starting to get tiresome.  The liberals want to increase taxes, while the conservatives want to cut spending, and yet neither side wants to give the other anything.  It's amazing, as the United States government was built on debate and compromise.  Today, there is plenty of debating, but where is the compromise?  I truly do not care whose fault it is as I feel that it is everyone's fault.  Could politicians just find some way to get together and talk, saying things like "if you give us this, we'll give you that" or some other such idea.  The problem now is that instead both sides are trying to "win" the debate instead of trying to progress the debate.  Start simple, tax a little bit here, cut a bit there and pretty soon the U.S. may actually find a solution to the problem or at least keep the country from collapsing.  Instead the Senate and Congress just pass really small amendments on bills that delay the date of whatever cliff is approaching for a few months, or a few years.  Tell me what you think though, is there a solution or perhaps at least a decent answer?