blue dots background image

Uncategorized

Avoiding the Truth: The Hypocrisy of Debt Ceiling Deals and Bad Marriages

The debt ceiling deal has exposed our political system to be a lot like a bad marriage that perpetuates itself only when both parties to it tacitly agree to keep the relationship wholly superficial and at all costs avoid confronting the truth. It requires not only duplicity, but pretense, cynicism, hypocrisy, and a near complete abandonment of hope.

The details of the debt ceiling agreement are convoluted, upon which the illusion of substantive progress depends. But in fact most of the hard work has been left to the future, and that time-honored political dodge – a commission. As in a bad marriage there is so little confidence of it improving that even future action to reduce federal spending is predicated on automatic triggers rather than thoughtful deliberation.

Most observers would not have thought it possible for politicians to abdicate their responsibilities, let alone their principles, even further than they had over the past few weeks of negotiations. But with the final deal they managed to create a living monument to such cowardice.

The weak smiles of Senators Harry Reid and Charles Schumer walking through a Capitol corridor and captured on the front page of many papers the day the deal was done, betrayed the embarrassment of leading a party that has evolved, at least for now, into a paler, weaker version of their Republican counterpart. And President Obama, who put getting a deal ahead of his own once eloquently stated ideals, has unintentionally shown us just how much audacity it does take to continue to hope.

Related News

Baby Brain Development
22 April 2024
Release

RELEASE: Share Our Strength Provides Key Funding to State-Based Advocates to Support Food Security Policy Initiatives for Children and Families

Medicaid Food Security Network Addresses Food and Nutrition Insecurity with an Emphasis On Closing the Enrollment Gap in SNAP and...

Jeremiah Program: Baltimore Center
09 April 2024
Story

Helping Kids by Helping Single Moms

Can you imagine how far kids could go if their moms weren’t worried about affording groceries or paying the rent?...

young children shareourstrength.org
14 March 2024
Release

RELEASE: Share Our Strength Unveils Groundbreaking Investment of $6.7 Million to Advance Economic Mobility for Single Mothers and Their Children

Initiative to Address Root Causes of Food Insecurity and Financial Instability Through Partnerships with 28 Organizations [Media: For photos and...