After Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., told The Brookings Institution that Democrats were more than willing to allow a $490 billion tax hike an all Americans if Republicans don’t agree to tax hikes in the rich, Talking Points Memo Brian Beutler wrote a column explaining, “How Democrats Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Fiscal Cliff.” Beutler reported that, Democrats believed “the economic consequences of tumbling over the fiscal cliff won’t really be felt until the election is over.”

Oops.

The New York Times reports today:

A rising number of manufacturers are canceling new investments and putting off new hires because they fear paralysis in Washington will force hundreds of billions in tax increases and budget cuts in January, undermining economic growth in the coming months. Executives at companies making everything from electrical components and power systems to automotive parts say the fiscal stalemate is prompting them to pull back now, rather than wait for a possible resolution to the deadlock on Capitol Hill. … Many in Washington predict a solution that keeps most of the tax cuts in place and avoids the worst of the budget cuts in the short-term will emerge after the November election, but John Selldorff is not taking chances. As the chief executive of the American subsidiary of Legrand, a global manufacturer of power devices based in France, Mr. Selldorff says that for the rest of the year, his company plans to “hold off on doing things that we might otherwise do if the environment were more stable.” “We’d love to hire more people, but we’re saying no,” he said.

Murray is not the only Democrat who is on record saying they are than willing to see unemployment rise if it means Democrats will finally be able to punish the rich with higher taxes. Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has said he thinks Congress should go over the fiscal cliff. So has former Democratic Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Not that Republicans are doing enough to stop Taxmageddon either. Of the $493 billion in tax hikes scheduled to hit the U.S. economy in 2013, the most recent House Republican bill would only prevent $228 billion of them. That would leave more than half of Taxmageddon — $265 billion to be exact — in place. That is not good enough.