The Ride Over The Fiscal Cliff Has Already Begun

Most of the worries about the "fiscal cliff" focus on what will happen in 2013 if Washington politicians fail to prevent a big batch of tax hikes and spending cuts from going into effect all at once at the start of the year. But some parts of the economy are already going over the cliff, a sign of how important future expectations are to present-day events.  

Here are a few examples of companies that are struggling now on account of the dickering in Washington: