America: Bloated Politics...

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ
The Paz Files

That stuff crippling Washington. D.C. to do with the federal debt ceiling? Not as big a deal as you may imagine. Political posturing by both of the country's dominant parties is really what that's about. The nation has a debt, and it manages it by way of a ceiling; that is, the amount of money it borrows. It's been part of modern day America.

Yesterday, President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and Speaker of The House John Boehner, a Republican, sparred in dueling press conference - each blaming the other for the stalemate in arriving at a deal that will set this cycle's debt ceiling by way of either cuts in spending, increased taxes or both. Obama said Boehner walked out of the ongoing discussions; Boehner said the president had "moved the goal posts" toward more taxes, something the Republicans do not believe is ever needed to pay the nation's way down life's highway.

But Republican opposition to every move by the president is par for the course. The Democrats did it to former war President George W. Bush, and it was then-Sen. Barack Obama who fought it and who labeled it a "failure of leadership." The party in power, in other words, always gets opposition when taxes are concerned. That is the game Washington, D.C. has known for decades. As for the debt ceiling itself and its threat to the country, well, there are many views about that. This week, Wall Street effected a "fail safe" scenario just in case, however. America will not default, and even if the important date of August 2 given by the Administration comes and goes without a congressional deal, economists say the country can weather a 3-4-5 day wait. Foreign investment bondholders may rebel, yes. But America is the world's stock market of choice. It is the world bank, no matter what China may believe.

Will it mean anything then?

Well, some federal services may be halted, as happened for the three weeks recently in Minnesota when that state 's politicians could not wrangle a budget agreeable to all concerned. National parks may close and some agencies, such as the Forest Service or the EPA or the IRS may see a few days off, but it will be a temporary inconvenience. Wall Street will react (it is a gambling enterprise, as you know) and money will be made and lost, but the angst to play on TV will also be temporary. The world is a smaller world all the way around. Failure may apply to Third World countries in the true definition of the word, but the U.S. economy is a Big Sky economy. Some opine that this is yet another move at re-organizing wealth.

Still, it is intriguing.

Politics has its ebb and flow, its historical sway. Next year is an election year.

This debt ceiling imbroglio is just part of that dance...

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