The United States has all but begun its plunge off the fiscal cliff, at least on the markets. And with last minute talks between Republicans and Democrats falling apart yet again, America could be in for a hard landing. Wall Street is in full retreat, seeing five straight days of sell-offs, as panicky investors jump ship. On New Year's day, 600 billion dollars worth of tax hikes and federal cuts are slated to come into force in America. And a deal to avert that is still nowhere in sight. Though, as RT's Gayane Chichakyan reports, the makings of this crisis were there for all to see.

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