Why Americans shouldn’t 'breath a sigh of relief' following the tentative debt deal: WaPo editorial board

28 May 2023

After President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) reached a tentative debt deal Saturday, many Americans are anticipating next steps.

While the deal is necessary — The Washington Post editorial board argues, "What should not happen now is for Americans to breathe a sigh of relief and move on," because the United States will see another debt limit crisis in 2025.

The Post writes, "Almost no other nation has anything like a debt ceiling because it no longer makes any sense."

Furthermore, the board notes:

The debt limit itself needs to be scrapped. Enacted in World War I, it was created so Congress would not have to keep approving debt issuances. A century ago, the limit was set high to avoid hitting it. Over time, the debt ceiling took on a different role as a useful check on bipartisan spending largesse. It played a role in the 1990s in pushing lawmakers to reduce the national deficit and enact a balanced budget at the turn of the century. In recent years, as the normal budget process in Congress has broken down, the debt ceiling has functioned as one of the few moments of reckoning on the increasingly alarming fiscal outlook.

Furthermore, the board notes, "Members of both parties have called for an end to the debt limit because it risks too much for the United States — and the entire global financial system, as well as the livelihoods of federal workers, veterans and businesses who need to be paid."

Additionally, The Post adds, "a last-minute compromise occurred, but a dangerous precedent has been set," noting, "House Republicans have now used the debt limit twice to create a hostage-like situation that brings the nation close to an unthinkable default."

As 2025 is less than two years away, the board warns: "Expect that a future Republican Congress would be willing to go over the cliff to extract more."

The Washington Post editorial board's full op-ed is available at this link (subscription required).

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