national

The "fiscal cliff" compromise on taxes leaves a big part of the nation's budget crisis still dangling.

Lawmakers bought a little time with a New Year's agreement to hold income tax rates steady for 99 percent of Americans while allowing payroll taxes to go up. But they left themselves only two months to settle seemingly irreconcilable differences over how much the United States should borrow and spend and where painful budget cuts should land.

Here's a look at what's been resolved and what's left hanging:

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AUTOMATIC SPENDING CUTS

The bipartisan deal approved by the Senate and House put off dealing with the nearly $110 billion in automatic spending cuts set for this year.

Unless Congress stops them by March 1, automatic cuts of about 8 or 9 percent are set to sweep through nearly all federal agencies, with half the money coming out of the military.

Both parties talk about the need to control spending, but lawmakers don't want the kinds of chaotic cuts now barreling toward them. Republicans worry that the Pentagon would be hamstrung; Democrats say vital federal programs would be crippled.

Federal workers would face furloughs or even layoffs, Americans would see all sorts of government services curtailed, and businesses would feel the pinch of reduced government spending.

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DEBT LIMIT SHOWDOWN

Around the same time, the United States would lose its ability to borrow money to pay its debts, unless Congress acts. That's a big deal, especially since the government borrows about 31 cents of every dollar it spends.

The U.S. bumped against its $16.4 trillion borrowing limit Monday, but the Treasury Department is using special accounting measures to avoid default for now. Private economists say those methods could probably stretch through late February or early March.

After that, the United States would risk its first-ever default.

Hopes of wrapping the issue into the year-end negotiations were dashed, setting up the potential for another standoff. House Speaker John Boehner says any debt increase must be paired with equal spending cuts. Obama says the debt ceiling is too important to negotiate.

The last time such a showdown brought the nation close to default, in the summer of 2011, it roiled the financial markets and contributed to Standard & Poor's decision to strip the U.S. government of its AAA bond rating.

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A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN?