Broken Government And The Debt Crisis

46:42

July 26, 2011

John Harwood in for Tom Ashbook

The latest on the debt ceiling negotiations, and how the markets will react as the deadline nears.

As Congressional leaders try to reach an accord to avert a debt-ceiling crisis, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, strides from his office to the House Chamber, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, July 25, 2011, following a morning meeting other GOP leaders. (AP)

If Washington followed the script, this would be the moment for bipartisan compromise. Instead they are digging in –- with dueling televised speeches by President Obama and Speaker John Boehner, and dueling House and Senate debt-limit plans.

Have markets already gotten their answer about America’s solvency? Have voters gotten their answer about our politics?

This hour On Point: One week before Treasury’s debt deadline, the race to keep the country from going bust.
-John Harwood
Guests:

Carol Lee, White House reporter for the Wall Street Journal.
Thomas Mann, senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution. He's coauthor (with Norman Ornstein) of
The Broken Branch: How Congress is Failing America and How to Get it Back on Track.
Allen Sinai, chief global economist at Decision Economics.
Kim Alfano, Republican media consultant. President and CEO of Alfano Communications.

This program aired on July 26, 2011.