Caving or strengthening
… I get calls. The White House insists that it is absolutely, positively not going to cave or indeed even negotiate over the debt ceiling — that it rejected the coin option as a gesture of strength, as a way to put the onus for avoiding default entirely on the GOP. Truth or famous last words? I guess we’ll find out.
The problem is that the White House’s definition of what it means to cave may be quite different from my own. If the White House believes entitlements need to be cut, and agrees to “strengthen” programs in this way, is that a cave? Maybe the “or even negotiate” clause covers this, but I’m wary.
says Mark Thoma at Economists View.