Good News, Bad News

The good news, it seems, is that politicians in Washington will suddenly recognize that their political survival is on the line, and work out a compromise that buys some time in the continuing saga of the budget impasse. The bad news is that an agreement worked out in haste will not satisfy most members of both parties throughout the land. The Economist tends to fix the blame on Republicans' refusal to raise taxes, but the Democrats are equally as stubborn about raising tax rates for the wealthiest Americans.