"It's all this for nothing as far as the deficit is concerned. It's attacking the wrong problem," said Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, which advocates for fiscal responsibility. . . .

There is no expectation that Congress will compromise before Friday. The prevailing view is the cuts are here to stay for the short-term. "I think they're both (Democrats and Republicans) willing to risk it for the month of March," Bixby said. "There may be a lot of collateral damage, innocents who get caught in this stalemate."