The unstable status quo

Great column from Ezra Klein.  The nub of it is this:

For all the bitterness in Washington these days, it’s easy to miss the broad consensus that undergirds our contentious politics. Republicans swear to protect Medicare and Social Security, and most recognize they can no longer hope to repeal Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Democrats voted to make the George W. Bush tax rates permanent for almost all Americans.

This is not a stable peace. The Democrats have mostly won the debate over what the government should do, while the Republicans have mostly won the debate over how much the government should tax. Sadly, the two sides of that equation don’t come anywhere near to adding up. The war currently raging from cliff to cliff is about bringing taxation and commitments closer to alignment.

Ezra continues to review some worthwhile recent writings about how this sorry state of affairs has led to decidedly inefficient and sub-optimal policy solutions.  Short version: we’re not in a good place for making good policy.

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