Can the Debt Ceiling Hold?

The Economist: “Any journalist, save this one, could tell you: a little deadline pressure can be helpful. But this principle can, like most, be taken to insanity.”

“Consider the pathological case of Congress under divided government, which often functions by wiring time bombs and sitting idly by until the countdown ticks close to zero. The present showdown over the debt ceiling, a statutory limit on the amount of money the Treasury can borrow, illustrates this worryingly well.”