Tom Coburn: Fiscal Cliff Fall Could Have 'A Couple Of Advantages'

WASHINGTON -- Speaking Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) sounded resigned to the possibility that the country might fall off the so-called fiscal cliff. He suggested that might bring unexpected benefits, such as reform of the federal tax code.

"We haven't heard anything, just minimal, in terms of what's going back and forth," Coburn said of the messages from party leaders. "I think they're far apart. I don't think anybody knows what's going to happen. The odds are that we've not seen the leadership on either side of the aisle to solve this problem."

But Coburn, who had previously declared that the fiscal cliff "doesn't really matter," said that a failure to reach a compromise now might not be all bad news.

"I think there are a couple of advantages. There's a lot of disadvantages," he said. "One of the advantages is the American people are going to see what the real cost of their government is, the actual real cost for the very wealthy."

"What people don't realize is the well-connected, well-heeled in this country take most of the advantage of all the deductions and all the giveaways in the tax code," he added.

Coburn said this could lead to a push for tax reform, a cause he has long advocated.