Video: Republican Party 'cranks and crazies' threaten US economy, says Australian minister The Republican Party's position on the country's budget had led a year ago to the deadlock in negotiations, Mr Swan said, to prevent the looming "fiscal cliff" - nearly $600 billion in planned spending cuts and tax hikes that will bite early next year. "There can be few things more alarming in public policy than a political movement which was genuinely prepared to see the government of the United States default on its obligations in order to score a political point," he said. Mr Swan, who as treasurer of a centre-left government presides over one of the few economies to have avoided recession in recent years, also called on the US Congress to resolve an agreement on the budget to support growth in the short term. With the US presidential campaign entering its final weeks, the spending cuts and tax hikes will kick in unless Mr Obama and Congress reach a deficit-reduction deal. Democrats want to make up the shortfall by increasing taxes on wealthy Americans, while Republicans favour spending cuts.