Great piece. Mr. Moran is right. One clue to our current predicament lies in the reception given to the Bowles-Simpson recommendations, which were shelved shortly after being made public. For decades, liberals have been insisting on ever larger government, while conservatives have insisted on ever lower taxes. Hence the constant borrowing. And hence the annual deficits and the crushing National Debt. Bowles-Simpson blew the whistle on both parties. The report offered a reasonable and practical way forward, telling us that spending would have to be cut, that taxes would have to be raised, and that endless borrowing was not a sustainable path forward. But this is bad news, and politicians of all stripes just hate delivering bad news. And so they didn’t. Instead, they retreated to their time-honored habits of raising the debt ceiling and keeping taxes low. And then they doubled down on demonizing the other side. Eventually, of course, the markets will administer the necessary discipline, and there will be great discomfort all around. Until then, pass the peanuts and enjoy the show!
