The Ridiculous Crisis; the Debt Ceiling-David Frum

David Frum is a different kind of conservative, one who thinks. Frum thinks logically while still holding true to his belief system. I may not agree with him a lot, especially on extending the Bush tax cuts, but this analysis was especially interesting, dealing with the debt limit and what Obama has already done to reduce it.

The Week: Here's one Democratic compromise that could move the debt ceiling talks further along: Extend the Bush tax cuts for four more years.

It's pretty obvious how Barack Obama and the Democrats would like to resolve the problem: (1) Slow the growth of federal social programs, especially Medicare; (2) Cut defense spending; and (3) Allow the Bush tax cuts to lapse. The convenient thing about this Democratic plan is that it does not require big changes in existing law. The president's health care reform law has already conferred on the administration many of the tools it would like to use to rein in Medicare. Defense spending will decline as the president ends combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Bush tax cuts are pre-programmed to lapse automatically at the end of 2012. All Obama needs to do is win re-election in November 2012, and his way forward on the deficit becomes surprisingly smooth. 

Republicans know that.

The preferred Republican path to deficit reduction is: (1) Enact big changes in federal social programs, especially Medicaid; and (2) Lower tax rates further, in hopes of accelerating growth and generating revenues.

Sounds like a real loser agenda and just the opposite of public opinion polls. But what I liked was his surprising admission of how easy the solution is at this point due to Obama policy. Even worse, Frum exposes the debt ceiling for what it is, a "ridiculous crises."

We (should) get rid of the debt ceiling altogether, so we put an end to these ridiculous crises. Let's both agree that when Congress votes for a certain amount of spending, and votes for a lesser amount of taxing, it has for all practical purposes already voted to authorize the executive to borrow the difference. No other country on earth has this ridiculous debt limit thing. It's an outdated artifact of the First World War."