Finally at the other end of the tunnel, a slight sliver of light shines down on us. The government, regrettably including Congress and its record low approval, has returned. However, in characteristic form, the 113th Congress is already planning to do it all over again.
Come February 7, the debt ceiling will need another boost. No one really knows whether partisans in Congress (read: Tea Party Republicans) will provoke another debt ceiling crisis. Hopefully, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will be able to control the Republicans on the budget conference committee. Hopefully, the committee will come up with a budget deal, and maybe even a new tax plan to boot. Yet to expect all, or even any, of this would give Congress too much credit. This marks the eighth bipartisan budget committee created by Congress to solve a crisis, and none have succeeded. Anything can happen, but it is more likely that nothing will happen.
Today, instead of assessing who “won” and “lost” the shutdown, we should instead focus on what was lost. According to a new report by Macroeconomic Advisors, the recent Congress-manufactured crises have cost the U.S. economy $700 billion and 2 million jobs. While both parties have dug in their heels and refused to compromise, the American economy has been teetering at every move. Talks over the budget and job creation have failed to produce an agreement and have worked against the end goal of helping the American people and the economy.
In the long run, there are no winners in such an atmosphere. Winning a debt ceiling standoff or fiscal cliff debate means little more than gaining leverage for the next battle. As long as Congress keeps setting up these doomsday dates every few months, the cycle will continue: the resolution of each crisis sews the seeds of the next one. Through it all, the American people will be left wondering how long this can go on.