Sheldon Richman on How the Political Class Uses Fear of "Default" To Get Its Way

Ildar Sagdejev

Apparently the threats of international terror and China rising aren't enough to keep us alarmed and eager for the tether, writes Sheldon Richman. These things do tend to wear thin with time. But good old default can be taken off the shelf every now and then. It works like a charm every time. Now that a deal—postponing the "crisis" for a few months—has been worked out, the parts of the government that closed are open, the government credit card has a new higher limit, and the world has been saved—for now. Again. The pundits will thank the "grown-ups in the room" (of which there are none), and it will be back to business—which is to say, spending, taxing, borrowing, and coercing—as usual.