Boehner et l'ultimatum

On hausse ou pas le plafond de la dette. Le point sur les négociations.

"Of course it's perilous for Boehner to threaten to freeze the debt ceiling. That's why he now has the attention of the White House and congressional Democrats. They have driven spending to extraordinary heights. Now Boehner's ultimatum threatens … the ultimate.

He is correct to assert, though, that the even greater risk is to let federal spending continue to soar. The danger there isn't just a noisy default skirmish that the world already sees as Washington's political spat-du-jour. No, the danger from continued free-spending is an America so deep in hock that it truly does look to the world as if it will be unable to pay its debts.

If credit markets ever flip to that pessimistic view, the Chinese and other big holders of U.S. paper really will race for the exits. What would be the resulting crisis? Look to Europe. Our guess is that finance ministers in places like Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain would erect statues of this guy Boehner if they magically could turn back the clock and embrace his brand of fiscal austerity. Instead they're struggling to simultaneously stabilize their shaky economies, reduce their runaway debts, and persuade global investors to trust that they'll be able to make their interest payments in coming years. Whew.
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L'article au complet: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-boehner-20110510,0,5405113.story