Democrats enacted first the $1.8 trillion “American Rescue Plan” and then the $745 billion “Inflation Reduction Act” - one of the most comically misnamed bills in U.S. Even with the pandemic ebbing, Biden nevertheless oversaw federal spending that was a staggering 40 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels. The next year, when Democrats took over both the White House and Congress, they went reckless on a solo basis. The cavalcade of relief began that spring with a $2.2 trillion stimulus bill that showered money on individuals and businesses alike without even a pretense of “needs-testing” - seeing if they actually were hurt by the shutdowns. However, in 2020, when control of Washington was split, both the White House and Congress were eager to spend lavishly to limit the fallout from the massive economic downturn caused by COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. The phony cover story: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that “not only will this tax plan pay for itself, but it will pay down debt.” When Republicans took control of the White House and Congress in 2017, they pushed through a $1.5 trillion tax cut that overwhelmingly benefited corporations and the already very wealthy - a decision that even National Review slammed because the cost would be covered by more deficit spending, not budget cuts. No one should believe tidy accounts blaming one side or the other for the explosion of debt over the past six years. Each party only gives a rip about the national debt when the other party is sharply adding to it. The problem is that neither party has any credibility on budget issues. faces fiscal chaos if it doesn’t change its ways. It’s not partisan propaganda to say the U.S. Just as with the last serious debt ceiling showdown - the 2011 battle between Democratic President Barack Obama and House Republicans - many people perceive it as overhyped.īut on the other, other hand - at least for the three-handed among us - a case can be made that a prolonged debt ceiling fight is exactly what America needs, though without McCarthy’s risky hardball tactics. On the other hand, it also often felt more like juvenile political theater than a true crisis. On the one hand, this felt like a welcome end to an insanely dangerous game of political chicken, one that has unnerved global investors floored by the idea that the world’s greatest economic power would blithely stop paying many of its bills. Given that this walls off a freeze in Social Security and Medicare spending - much less actual cuts - the deal is far from the momentous breakthrough that GOP leaders say they want. The drama over whether House Republicans would force the federal government into its first-ever default early next month by refusing to raise the national debt ceiling from its present $31.4 trillion took a dramatic turn Thursday with reports that President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, were working on a compromise in which Republicans would agree to lift the debt ceiling in return for what was called a “strict” two-year cap on “discretionary” spending except for military and veterans programs. Reed is deputy editor of the editorial and opinion section.
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