Is it too eccentric to suggest that we should never again worry about a congressionally induced default on the national debt?
How many times has the nation faced the horror of an unraised debt ceiling, millions thrown out of work, America's credit rating detroyed, no operational government, global mayhem — only to find, at the eleventh hour, that all is well.
With default seemingly imminent, the debt ceiling bill sailed through Congress with only token resistance. It passed the House by a vote of 314 to 117, with large majorities on both sides: 149 Republicans, 165 Democrats. In the Senate it passed 63-36, which, for that body, represented an astounding consensus.
In short, very few — way too few — Republican members of Congress every seriously toyed with the notion of crashing the American and world economies. All the Sturm und Drang was, once again, mere theatre, a means by which the GOP could show the home folks that it was fighting the good fight.
But from here on out, perhaps the better way to engage these children of melodrama would be not to engage them at all. Ignore their demands, let them scream and cry, sit back and say nothing but ... No negotiations on the debt ceiling. Which, as you know, was President Biden's initial stance.
A shame it is he failed to maintain it. Because he had them all along. Except for the most dedicated nihilists, the Republicans never intended to commence a global economic catastrophe. This was one ransom note whose price was far too high, and much too calamitous if unpaid.
In the end, a whimper. Credit to Biden for at least having negotiated a phony agreement to match the phony war. Officially, it cuts federal spending by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years. A New York Times analysis, however, found an actual reduction — after accounting for its bookkeeping gimmicks — of about $650 billion, again, over 10 years.
The Congressional Budget Office projects federal outlays for just this year to total $6.2 trillion.
In a couple years, Republican theatrics will again hit the stage. We'll all feel better if we simply leave our tickets at the counter.