President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner renewed negotiations regarding the “fiscal cliff” by telephone Dec. 5, just hours after Obama took a hard stance against Republicans threatening a government default.

The conversation between Obama and Boehner comes on the heels of the White House rejecting a compromise offer from the Republicans earlier this week.

Though very few details were provided about the discussion between Boehner and Obama, according to the Associate Press Dec. 4, officials revealed was that there was no plan for Republicans and Democrats to resume negotiations. Meanwhile, both parties have locked into their position, claiming that the “fiscal cliff” can be avoided with a compromise from the other side.

Currently, disagreements between Republicans and Democrats on the tax rates of wealthy Americans and reforms on Medicare and Social Security have prevented the parties from reaching a compromise. Many economists warn that going off the fiscal cliff would be disastrous for the American economy and possibly cause another recession. #