Overview for debt-limit

The S&P Bond Rally

In a column for the National Post , I explain why the current price of government bonds repudiates the S&P downgrade of American debt: If I were Standard & Poor's, I'd be damn embarrassed. On Friday, the famous bond-rating services took the momentous step of downgrading the sovereign …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday August 9, 2011

Bachmann's Shameless Response to the Downgrade

Michele Bachmann seems to be competing for the heavily contested title of Most Shameless Politician. As the leader of the Tea Party Caucus in the House of Representatives, she may bear more responsibility for the unprecedented downgrade of the US credit rating than any other individual. So what …

Written by Andrew Pavelyev on Saturday August 6, 2011

Dysfunctional Politics Have a Price

S&P has now downgraded the US government from AAA to AA+, a historic downgrade. The effects of this downgrade will no doubt echo throughout the US and global economy. Zero Hedge posts the full text of the S&P statement. Contrary to what you might read in some quarters of the media , …

Written by Fred Bauer on Friday August 5, 2011

The Debt Deal's Biggest Losers

In my new column for The Week I discuss who has lost the most in the new debt deal: The first and most obvious loser: National security. The economist Herb Stein used to advocate a simple model of federal budgeting: a) Decide how much it costs to defend the country. b) Pay for it. …

Written by David Frum on Thursday August 4, 2011

Bartlett: End the Debt Ceiling

One consequence of the psychodrama over the debt ceiling is that we can now discuss how to remove it. In his column Bruce Bartlett reminds us that we have known since the 1950's that the debt ceiling doesn't reduce spending: While politicians and the general public believe that the debt limit …

Written by FrumForum Editors on Monday August 1, 2011

Seven Ideas for the GOP After Debt Day

In my column for CNN , I discuss seven ideas for the GOP to take up after the debt crisis has passed: 1) Unemployment is a more urgent problem than debt. The U.S. can borrow money for 10 years at less than 3%. It can borrow money for two years at less than one-half a percent. Yes, the …

Written by David Frum on Monday August 1, 2011

Stumbling Toward Disaster

There's blame for all in the debt talk breakdown. The president walked away from Simpson-Bowles, declined to present plans to reach long-term budget balance, etc. etc. etc. But in the argy-bargy, keep this in mind: the debt problem has become a debt crisis for one reason only: because …

Written by David Frum on Friday July 22, 2011

Towards a Deal?

Reading the New York Times column by David Brooks on why Republicans should vote for the “plan” that House Speaker John Boehner and President Obama reportedly have developed casts a pall of depression over any thinking person. Reading the New York Times column by Paul Krugman on the …

Written by Steve Bell on Friday July 22, 2011

Looking for the Exits

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Written by David Frum on Friday July 22, 2011

The GOP is Not Blameless in a Default

I wonder if Republicans understand that voters are not inclined to be forgiving to the party that toys with financial apocalypse. Thursday evening, I spent some time with a friend who doesn't follow politics particularly closely. She is married, has a house and kids, and runs her own business. She …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Friday July 22, 2011

Will the "No New Taxes" Pledge Cause Financial Disaster?

The Cato Institute held a debate at the Rayburn House Office Building to discuss whether the Republican Party’s “No New Taxes” pledge is an effective tool for Conservatives’ ultimate goals of shrinking the federal government and restoring fiscal responsibility to Washington. Arguing that …

Written by Fred Messner on Tuesday July 19, 2011

Raising the Debt Ceiling is Inevitable

The debt ceiling will be raised, but will get higher by a horrendous amount. It fair to say that most people do not understand the intricacies and machinations of the “debt ceiling” debate underway in the U.S., involving the President, Congress, Republicans Democrats, with the rest of the …

Written by Peter Worthington on Monday July 18, 2011

Newt Stays Sane on the Balanced Budget Amendment

Newt Gingrich's campaign may be struggling, but he is staking a surprisingly smart position on the Balanced Budget Amendment. As the debt ceiling talks drag on, many Republicans are suggesting a new condition for raising the amount that the federal government can borrow: the passage of a …

Written by Ajay Ravichandran on Friday July 15, 2011

GOP Message of the Day: Retreat!

The McConnell plan offered Republicans an ingenious exit from the debt-ceiling confrontation, but conservatives in the media are reviling the plan. The McConnell plan offered Republicans an ingenious exit from the debt-ceiling confrontation: the debt ceiling would be raised in exchange for a …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday July 13, 2011

Debt Talks Don't Need an Ambitious Solution

If the debt talks produce only (i) an increase in the debt ceiling and (ii) a framework for cutting federal spending over the medium term - well, there are worse ways to resolve the crisis. If the debt talks produce only (i) an increase in the debt ceiling and (ii) a framework for cutting …

Written by David Frum on Monday July 11, 2011

The Debt Ceiling's Collective Action Trap

The debt ceiling vote is one where every Republican will want to be on the losing side. But if they all win then the country will lose. If you're a Republican elected official, you want two things from the debt-ceiling budget talks: 1) You want the talks to succeed - to produce a deal that …

Written by David Frum on Thursday July 7, 2011

The Debt Limit has to be Constitutional

The Balkin-Bartlett view of the Fourteenth Amendment and the public debt is tempting. But that view seems to me very clearly wrong. The Balkin-Bartlett view of the Fourteenth Amendment and the public debt is tempting. But having read and considered Ajay's excellent blogpost , that view seems …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday July 6, 2011

How the GOP Benefits From a "Constitutional Option"

The Republicans also benefit from a decision to decide that the debt limit is unconstitutional, though the country would suffer. As Matt Yglesias suggests , one of the big reasons for the left bringing up the "Constitutional option," in which the president would override the debt ceiling by …

Written by Fred Bauer on Wednesday July 6, 2011

Sorry, the Debt Limit Looks Constitutional

Despite what some would hope, it looks like the debt ceiling is indeed constitutional. With negotiations over the debt limit going down to the wire, the threat of a catastrophic default looms on the horizon. In order to prevent this disaster from happening, some analysts and experts think …

Written by Ajay Ravichandran on Wednesday July 6, 2011

There is No Upside to a Default

Can anyone explain to me slowly what exactly congressional Republicans are doing on the debt ceiling? Can anyone explain to me slowly what exactly congressional Republicans are doing on the debt ceiling? Yes, I perfectly understand the need to restrain borrowing (relative to GDP), …

Written by Andrew Pavelyev on Thursday June 30, 2011