"The real problem is the future. On current policies the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reckons that the federal debt, now 62% of GDP, will hit 87% by 2020. Add in state and local-government borrowing, and the total approaches 110%. According to the IMF, America’s structural deficit and the growth in its debt over the medium term are among the worst in the rich world. The United States also stands out for its lack of any plan to deal with this."

From “Confronting the Monster,” new in this week’s issue of The Economist

I’m not an advocate of taking serious austerity steps right now. It would seriously endanger our fragile economic recovery, which if anything requires increased deficit-funded spending. But I am seriously distressed that the road to a balanced budget doesn’t even look viable, and that Congressional gridlock is likely to keep it that way for quite a while. The time to deal with the long-term deficit is going to come eventually, and it’s pretty shameful that we might not be ready.