Obama willing to fight on "fiscal cliff"

(CBS News) The White House has indicated the president will veto tax cuts on the wealthy. As the looming "fiscal cliff" approaches, CBS News' Bill Plante reports on "CBS This Morning" that President Obama is willing to put up a fight to ensure that tax cuts for the wealthy are not extended. 

According to Plante:

[The White House] has sent word to Capitol Hill that the president is determined to get rid of those Bush tax cuts for families make being over $250,000 a year. And that is something he's been promising for four years and he's willing to use his veto power to do it. I mean, look, whether or not he wins in November the president is in the driver's seat after the election. If he wins he'll have a strong negotiating hand with congress to get higher revenues. If he loses, he could assure the tax rates go up for everyone before Mitt Romney takes office.

The "fiscal cliff" is a series of automatic budget cuts and tax cuts that are set to go into effect at the beginning of 2013. Economists say that if allowed to go forward, it could cause the economy to slip back into recession.

In a conference call with fellow Republicans on Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner said he hasn't talked to the president since July, Plante reports:

Now house speaker John Boehner told members on a call yesterday he hasn't even talked to the president about the fiscal cliff since July. He reportedly also told them nothing is going to happen until after they see the outcome of the election. And don't look for a quick sweeping overhaul, it's likely to be an incremental temporary measure.