About as apt a description of the debt ceiling debate as any:
Under Ronald Reagan, the first George Bush, and Bill Clinton, payments on federal debt often got above 3% of GDP. Under Bush the second, payments were about where they are now [around 1.5% of GDP]. Yet suddenly, we are in a near collective hysteria.
Via Balloon Juice.
An increase in CAFE standards to 54.5 mpg by 2025 is good news indeed, whatever else you think about President Obama’s environmental record. It does, however, underscore the dysfunctional nature of the current moment, in which only in those areas where the President can effectively rule by decree can he get anything done.
I think most people believed that the developed world would eventually be eclipsed by China, Brazil, et al, but I think few, if any, believed that it would happen due to a rash of self-inflicted wounds. Some, perhaps, were a long time coming (e.g., European monetary union, the polarization of American political parties), but that just makes it even more disheartening to see the world’s richest countries lose their bearings.
The trillion dollar platinum coin option is looking pretty good right now.
— Can’t. Stop. Quoting. Bagehot.
Yeah, I thought about this a few times today.
