Pass something? Basis for slow debt ceiling agreement is -- no one trusts anyone else

You can really see it from both sides if you think about it.

It seems a useless result to have a debt ceiling agreement postponed for so long that it starts to affect the markets and the country's credit rating. Why not temporarily fix it and then move on to the more difficult fight?

Those who are calling for something to be done are kind of right. Why take the risk of any further economic damage?

And then there are those who say we have been here before. They assert that if the Congress (read the Obama administration) is given another reprieve, another blank check, and if there is no process in place to make sure this doesn't happen again, it will, and the country's fiscal reputation will be damaged.

In other words, nobody trusts that if there is a temporary debt ceiling agreement that any real work will get done to actually make the changes necessary to keep from having this happen again.

Look how long it took to address a problem we have known has been coming for months.

The sad thing about the debt ceiling debate is that it has to be tied to this balanced budget deal. Truth is, the cap, cut and balance is a great plan, a real step toward putting this country's financial house back in order.

It would be nice to trust that we could weather this temporary storm and then get back to serious talks about how to stop the runaway spending in Washington -- and to hold some people accountable for getting us into a situation where the debt ceiling was even a question.

Holding feet to the fire might be the only way to keep Washington moving forward. So the answer might very well be, agree on something now -- and then demand immediate action on the next step.

That might not be the best plan, but it might be best case scenario for now.

Published in Editorials on July 28, 2011 10:33 AM