Why are we assuming the “budget stalemate in the US Congress” is a problem that needs solving?
For me, it’s because I have a basic grasp of politics and the economy.
The founders, for obvious and excellent reasons, tried to structure the system so that violently controversial stuff could not get done, so that to govern effectively you needed a widespread consensus.
There is no consensus on spending unprecedented gobs of money, and it is not obvious that there should be such a consensus. Hence, gridlock. It is not a bug, it is a feature.
If the only effect of gridlock were to limit spending, that could be a feature. But the effect of gridlock in this case would be to stop government spending suddenly, and put a few million people out of a job suddenly, as well as immediately downgrading American bonds and the dollar, and other consequences as well. Calling this a feature is like building a train that jumps off the tracks if it goes over 100MPH and calling it a safety feature.
The founders, for obvious and excellent reasons, tried to structure the system so that violently controversial stuff could not get done, so that to govern effectively you needed a widespread consensus.
There is no consensus on spending unprecedented gobs of money, and it is not obvious that there should be such a consensus. Hence, gridlock. It is not a bug, it is a feature.
If the only effect of gridlock were to limit spending, that could be a feature. But the effect of gridlock in this case would be to stop government spending suddenly, and put a few million people out of a job suddenly, as well as immediately downgrading American bonds and the dollar, and other consequences as well. Calling this a feature is like building a train that jumps off the tracks if it goes over 100MPH and calling it a safety feature.