By Ben Ritz
Republicans have refused to raise or suspend the debt limit – which multiple independent forecasters have warned could cause the government to default on its debts for the first time in history as soon as June 1st – unless “substantive reforms” to federal spending are made. Biden spent most of this year refusing to indulge in the GOP’s hostage-taking but agreed to negotiate on a broader budget deal once Republicans made an opening offer. After Republicans coalesced around a position by passing the Limit, Save, Grow Act through the House, both sides began negotiations this week in the hopes of striking a deal that Republicans could claim is a precursor to raising the debt limit and Democrats could claim is independent.
Part of the challenge is that Republicans have entered into the negotiation with extreme positions that no Democrat could ever accommodate. The GOP’s bill would raise the debt limit through early next year and pair that increase with $4.5 trillion of spending cuts over the coming decade and other conservative policy changes. Cuts of this magnitude might make sense in the context of a balanced and comprehensive package that addresses all areas of the budget, including raising new revenues – particularly at a time when inflation remains high and our projected long-term debt growth is unsustainable. But the conditions Republicans have imposed to target these cuts are unrealistic at best and economically ruinous at worst.
