WASHINGTON (MCT) — As a lofty political debate over taxes and spending plays out on the presidential campaign trail, a more practical one is unfolding this week in Virginia as eight senators try to strike a bipartisan deficit-reduction deal.

The senators are holed up in a Mount Vernon conference room seeking a way to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff — the year-end confluence of automatic tax increases and budget cuts that could stagger the economy and American households. Failure to act could slice half a percentage point off economic growth next year and deliver an average $2,000 tax increase.