With little room to spare, the United States Congress agreed to raise the debt ceiling. While the deal was not to anyone’s liking, the alternative – default – would have been catastrophic for the United States and for the global economy. Nowhere outside the United States would the impact have been felt more strongly than here in Canada. We can all breathe a sigh of relief.
While the compromise isn’t perfect, it does make a down payment on deficit reduction that everyone agrees is necessary. And it gives both Republicans and Democrats a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before year end. As President Obama said: “We can’t balance the budget on the backs of the very people who have borne the brunt of this recession.”
In the mean time, it lifts the cloud of debt and uncertainty that hangs over the U.S. economy. And it allows us to turn to the very important business of doing everything we can to create jobs, boost wages, and grow the economy faster than it is currently growing.
Hopefully this was a step in getting our economic house and our political house in order.
DJ
Tags: Canada, debt ceiling, economy, President Obama, U.S. Congress
Post Entries (RSS)