Should we even have a debt limit?

It appears that the government shutdown, which technically is a battle over annual appropriations legislation for so-called discretionary spending, is going to drag on for a while. The Obama Administration has shown zero willingness to negotiate, even though Republicans have made a series of offers to resolve the conflict. And the longer this fight lasts, […]

…Well, I’m not sure what it means. But it sure doesn’t make sense when you look at the big picture. A credit card company wouldn’t increase a deadbeat’s credit limit, so why is it a sign of fiscal prudence to give Uncle Sam more borrowing authority? That being said, I never thought it was realistic […]

Here’s the video that won the lucrative Powerline prize. Perhaps not as catchy as the entry I posted a couple of days ago, but very well done, with a proper focus on excessive government. And here’s a video just released by Cato on why the debt deal – at best – is a holding action […]

Considering the Democrats control the Senate and the White House, I actually think the Republican leadership did a decent job in the debt negotiations. Of course, I had low expectations, but did anybody expect miracles with Obama in the White House? As you might expect, this means the agreement is – at best – a […]

Politicians last night announced the framework of a deal to increase the debt limit. In addition to authorizing about $900 billion more red ink right away, it would require immediate budget cuts of more than $900 billion, though “immediate” means over 10 years and “budget cuts” means spending still goes up (but not as fast […]

In the spirit of the budget battle, readers have to eat their peas (i.e., endure my analysis) before getting to the dessert menu of jokes from the late-night comics. The big news today is that Speaker Boehner had to cancel a vote on his “Budget Control Act” last night. But other than the political-drama angle, […]

In an ideal world, GOPers would hold firm and not pass any debt limit until Democrats agreed to enact something like the Ryan plan/Cut-Cap-Balance. But I’ve never thought that was a realistic strategy. When we got to the drop-dead point, Obama would have Geithner or Bernanke give an inflammatory speech designed to panic financial markets […]

As a Washington policy wonk somewhat involved in the current debt-limit fight, I will confess that it is very frustrating that the White House has never produced a deficit-reduction plan. I’d much prefer a spending-restraint plan, of course, but I’m flummoxed that Obama has gotten away with doing nothing other than deliver some speeches filled […]

There are rumors that Obama may do a bit Clinton-era triangulation and agree to a GOP-friendly increase in the debt limit. That means no tax increases and as much as $3 trillion of so-called spending cuts. I’m skeptical, and even if it happens, I suspect that most of the spending cuts will be ephemeral (like […]