Bloomberg blasts supercommittee for dropping deficit deal

Fed up with Washington's colossal failure Monday to agree on how to cut the federal deficit, Mayor Michael Bloomberg lashed out at lawmakers, saying it was a "damning indictment of [their] inability to govern this country."

The so-called supercommittee had since September to find $1.2 trillion in budget cuts over the next decade by Wednesday's deadline. But the bipartisan group had to reach an agreement Monday, in order to give the Congressional Budget Office enough time to analyze it.

"Despite our inability to bridge the committee's significant differences, we end this process united in our belief that the nation's fiscal crisis must be addressed and that we cannot leave it for the next generation to solve," said a statement from co-chairs of the committee.

The two parties were bogged down by sticking points: Democratic members called for raising taxes on wealthier Americans and allow Bush-era tax cuts to expire at the end of the year, while GOP members pushed for cutting expensive social programs.

In the short term, financial markets took a dive Monday. But the larger issue will be delayed to 2013, when default cuts go into effect.

The impending failure prompted Gov. Andrew Cuomo to meet with his economic advisors. The state, he warned, could lose $5 billion in federal funding over the next 10 years.

"These events, combined with a stagnant national economy and the expanding fiscal crisis in Europe that has led to a sudden and severe decline in revenues for the state, have dramatically changed the fiscal course of the state," Cuomo said in a statement.