The divide between Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C., has rarely been deeper than it is right now. And it’s playing out in very dangerous territory — a potential default by the government, if an agreement isn’t reached on raising the debt limit by early August.
So far, political
theater is overshadowing any thought of earnest negotiations, threatening to turn a game of chicken into a round of Russian Roulette.
Redundant events in recent days have re-clarified each side’s positions, complete with hyperbole designed to maximize political advantage. In a play for negotiating leverage, House Republicans forced a vote Tuesday to reject raising the debt ceiling without accompanying spending cuts. Earlier, majority Democrats in the Senate brought up the budget bill passed by House Republicans — just so they could vote it down.
Meanwhile, investors who continue to fund trillions in U.S. government debt watch to see how far each is willing to inch toward the financial brink. History shows it doesn’t take much to spark a stampede in financial markets.
Most economists agree that failing to increase the debt ceiling could have catastrophic consequences. Compromising the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury cannot be an option.
House Republicans see an opportunity to force fiscal discipline in exchange for raising the debt ceiling, and they’re using it to force substantial cuts in spending. Nothing wrong with that. But some in their ranks have suggested, foolishly, that defaulting on some government payments wouldn’t necessarily be a big deal.
Democrats say they realize spending must be cut, but so far they’ve proposed nothing specific. Having seen the negative public reaction to House Republicans’ plan to re-engineer Medicare into a program that provides support to purchase private insurance rather than guaranteed benefits, Democrats may have decided the safest move is snipe at Republicans without sticking their own necks out.
Both sides need to get real.
Fixing our nation’s fiscal mess will require both sides to give ground on party orthodoxy. Democrats will have to face up to serious entitlement reforms and cost reductions, probably including spending caps. Republicans will have to yield on taxes. Both sides will have to face up to reductions in defense spending, realizing that the United States can no longer go to war and expect military families to be the only ones who sacrifice.
Democracy runs on compromise. Ideologues on both sides who dig in their heels, and demagogues on both sides who distort and demonize for political gain, aren’t trying to be part of a solution. Rather, they’re playing a very dangerous game.
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