Division on the Deficit

The lead article in today’s New York Times, “Divide on Deficit Likely to Grow After Election,” turns the current narrative upside the down. Pundits were predicting that Republicans in charge of the House and Democrats in the executive branch would have to cooperate, especially since Republicans were now assuming the mantle of government.

However, this article suggests an alternate scenario. Republicans would be bolstered with new representatives from the far right due to the Tea Party phenomenon, and Democrats would be more solidly liberal as their Southern moderates were knocked out of power.

The picture is not a pretty one. You think things are polarized now? Wait until the screaming starts as the wheels of government come to a screeching halt.

The most immediate casualty of any renewed polarization would involve the extension of the Bush tax cuts. If Democrats and Republicans are unable to agree on taxes for the rich, the whole edifice could come down, and that would mean higher taxes for everyone.

Meanwhile, the Commission President Obama formed to help make difficult decisions about Social Security, military spending and other sensitive matters, will be issuing its report into a chaotic environment. Even if the Democrats and Republicans on the panel are able to agree, their elected audience seems certain to deadlock.

The result, as The New York Times notes, may be deficit reduction by attrition.