When the first Treasury secretary, Alexander Hamilton, starting in 1789 began issuing debt to borrow on the good name of the new government of the United States until now, there has never been a default on its loans. Ever. That's 234 years of paying its obligations despite a Civil War, a Great Depression and a couple of world wars. The long streak was going to stop this week, said Janet Yellen--Hamilton's successor as the 78th secretary--when the cash would be exhausted and creditors would have gone unpaid.
That was the prescription urged by Dr. Donald Trump, becoming a deadbeat nation, showing once again his unfitness to hold public office.
Instead, on X-date minus 2, President Biden signed into a law a compromise agreed to with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to suspend the government's debt limit until 2025. Hamilton, buried at Trinity Church Cemetery downtown, can continue to rest in peace and Yellen can pay the bills that come due.
On Friday night, X-date minus 3, Biden gave the first Oval Office address of his term to urge more bipartisanship, like the deal he forged with McCarthy. It's a plea that we hope will find resonance with reasonable Republicans who sided with the speaker.
On Thursday night, X-date minus 4, the Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill, but by a margin of almost two-to-one, a majority of Republican senators voted no, along with the leftist fringe of the Democrats.
On Wednesday night, X-date minus 5, the House approved the legislation, with strong majorities of both parties, with only the partisan extremists rejecting the package.
How could anyone actually vote against this? To push the government into default in order to stop a West Virginia pipeline project? To throw 8 million Americans out of their jobs rather than have childless 50-year-olds who get food stamps work just like childless 49-year-olds who get food stamps must work? To bring calamity to global markets to keep in place the covid freeze on student loan repayments?
What would Hamilton think?