Brian Riedl is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Distorting history and underestimating the severity of the problem only increases the chance of insolvency.
Republicans can avert a debt crisis, but only once they’ve faced some harsh truths.
The budget deficit just doubled to $2 trillion. Don’t expect it to shrink anytime soon.
The loudest Republicans have failed to produce any coherent strategy to rein in deficits.
Massive federal borrowing means gambling America’s economic future on interest rates never rising.
The debt-limit deal is disappointing, but Congress cannot risk economic calamity.
It’s a consequence of the move away from policy toward grievance culture.
It’s expensive, regressive, and unjust. And it might well be illegal.