Why Deficit Crisis Is Hard to Fix: Effects of Problem Are Not Easy to See
Fixing the federal budget deficit is a political task that requires guts, but offers no glory. And that may be why there are few heroes in the battle over a deficit reduction deal.</br></br>The resounding defeat of the deficit reduction accord in the House earlv Fridav morning raises two I ' 'NWJ questions: Can any | SNSlTSIJ | package big enough to deal with the deficit problem pass Congress? Will anything that passes Congress be big enough to deal with the problem?</br></br>What makes this issue so paralyzing is, in part, the peculiar nature of the deficit crisis. It is a crisis that canÛªt be seen and whose ill effects are hard to isolate. That is why so many people compare it to something else.</br></br>Warning Americans about the danger of running big budget deficits lias been likened to telling a drunkard at a party that he is going to feel really lousy the next morning. No matter how hard you try to get the message across, the happy carouser isnÛªt going to care until the next morning.</br></br>President Bush last week compared the deficit to "a cancer gnawing away at our nationÛªs health.... Year after year, it mortgages the future of our children.Û