This isn't the financial media's finest hour.

We refer, of course, about the so-called fiscal cliff. Washington lawmakers have created a self-imposed deadline of Jan. 1 to make a deal on debt reduction.

It is an imminent threat. Either the automatic cuts or the grand bargain that emerges likely will have a halting effect on the economy.

That's one view. Another view: The cliff is really just a trumped-up annual budget discussion.

Politicians have created this event to pressure one another into a deal. It is theater. The most likely outcome is a combination of tax increases, spending cuts and kicking the can down the road.