Adding to the pressure is an unsurprising swarm of lobbyists - nearly 200, according to Politico this week - each of them attempting to preempt any supercommittee proposal that might put a hurt on the bottom line of industries ranging from health care to transportation to education. If the committee manages to overcome such love and stagger from the room with meaningful legislation, it still has to be approved without amendments by Congress.

For now, Republican leaders say that won't happen for any legislation that includes a tax increase. Democratic leaders say it won't happen for anything that doesn't.

Pessimistic yet?

So are we. Employers large and small are reluctant to hire workers and rev the economy until they see deficit collaboration that promises a stable future. Standard & Poor's, which temporarily jarred Washington by downgrading the U.S. government's credit rating in August, has hinted that a similar move might come again. All of which would likely keep the economy stagnant, experts say, and might nudge us toward a second recession.