Even as lawmakers raced to iron out an 11th hour deal to avert breaching the debt ceiling and reopen the U.S. government, momentarily allaying worries about global economic calamity, there is another unhappy reality to contend with: The next crisis is — as always — only a few months away.
None of the plans being considered resolves the issues at hand for long. A continuing resolution would fund the government through Jan. 15, a mere three months away, and raise the nation’s borrowing authority only until February, at which point another debt ceiling battle would loom. This time, negotiators would also be charged with drawing up a detailed budget plan for the next decade by Dec. 13.
Such appears to be the new normal for governance in the United States — one self-imposed crisis following on the heels of another, with enormous consequences for the American people…
Some analysts say the dysfunctional government is just a symptom of the gaping chasm that exists between the two major parties on questions as large as the appropriate role and scope of government…
The apocalyptic deadlines in quick succession — for raising the debt ceiling, for funding government, for avoiding deep across-the-board cuts — are designed to break the impasse and soften the stances of Democrats and Republicans alike. But that tactic has proved ineffectual…
Others point to the rise of lawmakers within the GOP whose philosophy tends toward no-government rather than limited government — a minority for whom it is not beyond the pale to affix policy demands onto decisions to greenlight typically mundane functions of government. Making matters worse, these lawmakers are outside the control of mainstream party leaders…
Questions resolved – BTW – around the time of the War of 1812. Just to point out the incompetence of the Tea Party Republicans. For the average right-wing grunt doesn’t even know that much about history – much less the economics of governance that decided the same questions back then.