Americans may be tired of political gridlock in Washington, but the bipartisan compromise announced Monday to avoid a government shutdown and extend the debt ceiling is evidence that not all cooperation is good.
When both major parties agree to increase spending by $320 billion more than current caps allow without much in the way of cuts, as well as to push any further need to address the debt ceiling until well after the 2020 election, it doesn’t seem like a time to celebrate. Washington clearly lacks any downward pressure on the nation’s growing debt, something Republicans once provided with enough conviction to force government shutdowns.
This deal effectively ends the 2011 sequester that was the last semiserious attempt to rein in dangerous overspending.
We understand that both sides have a lot to gain from the compromise. Democrats finally would be rid of any fiscal constraints imposed by the sequester. They would avoid any deep cuts to programs. Republicans would get an increase in defense spending, which they could tout during next year’s campaigns.
And, as long as the economy holds out, neither side would have to face any unpleasant budget realities while seeking reelection.
We also understand the truth about debt ceilings. By the time they become an issue, Washington already has incurred obligations that Congress must fund. To miss payments to Social Security, for veterans benefits or to cover the interest on the ballooning national debt is not an option. The consequences of doing so would reverberate through the investment community and result in a host of economic problems.
But deals such as these do little to ward off the eventual day of reckoning — a dark future time when the nation’s debt rises so high the economy can’t reasonably generate enough revenue to cover it without inflation, tax increases or severe cuts.
As the president of the Club for Growth told the New York Times, “It’s pretty clear that both houses of Congress and both parties have become big spenders, and Congress is no longer concerned about the extent of the budget deficits or the debt they add.”
Governing is easy when politicians feel free to extend benefits and increase programs without having to confront the pain of raising revenue to cover the costs. But when the economy hits an inevitable down cycle, few politicians will have earned the moral authority to pull the nation back to a more responsible course, and Washington may lack the ability to increase spending to ease the pain.
This compromise could add trillions to the national debt. Yearly budget deficits already were projected to exceed $1 trillion, perhaps as early as the current fiscal year.
The United States has the world’s reserve currency. It enjoys a leadership role among nations that was earned through military victories and a commitment to individual liberty that has encouraged unprecedented prosperity.
That is a leadership position of vital importance to billions of people worldwide who look to the United States as a beacon of hope. To play fast and loose with this vital role is irresponsible. It threatens much more than just the interests within the nation’s borders.
We urge both parties to return to the negotiating table and get serious.