A Weak Debt-Ceiling Deal Is Better Than None
With luck, it might be the first small step toward the more ambitious fiscal reforms the country needs.
It’s good to talk.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
On balance, the deal struck by President Joe Biden and Republicans in Congress to raise the debt ceiling should be welcomed. For sure, the proposal is feeble and the process has been nobody’s idea of how fiscal policy should be conducted — but if the agreement is passed, which cannot yet be taken for granted, it will at least be better than the alternative.
First and foremost, the deal would avoid the financial calamity of a possible default on the US government’s obligations. Second, though the agreement is weak on content, it would slightly improve the fiscal outlook. Third, its passage — assuming party leaders can summon the necessary majorities in Congress — would show, against the odds, that compromise in Washington is still possible. No doubt, striking reasonable bargains ought to be a lot less traumatic than this, but if it can still be done at all, that’s something.