A dangerous stalemate for the US economy

The failure of the comically mis-named "super-committee" of Congress to come up with even the modest debt reduction package required of it has been a racing certainty for weeks in Washington. Nonetheless, Monday evening's admission of that failure – the latest proof of the dysfunctionality of America's political system – is not only shameful. It is also dangerous.

The 12-person committee, split equally between Republicans and Democrats, was not being asked to remake the universe. Its task was to find $1.2 trillion of savings over 10 years, or barely 0.5 per cent of total GDP for that period, just a fraction of the $4trn worth of deficit reduction that most economists deem necessary for the nation's finances to be put in order.

The group was, moreover, given exceptional powers, including fast-track voting, decisions taken by a simple majority and no filibusters. Even so, it could not get the job done. The stumbling blocks were the usual ideological ones: the Democrats' reluctance to make meaningful cuts in public health and pensions programs, the Republicans' refusal to countenance any tax increases, even for the very rich. What happens now? The short answer, almost certainly, is nothing, at least until the 2012 presidential elections are out of the way. Theoretically, mandatory cuts, affecting even the normally sacrosanct Pentagon budget, will kick in automatically – but not until January 2013.

In political terms, the most obvious "winner" from the debacle is Mr Obama himself. Wisely, he declined to get involved in a doomed venture. Instead, he has to all intents and purposes launched his re-election campaign, portraying Republicans as the heartless party of "fat-cat" America and weighing into a "do-nothing" Congress.

For more: Leading article: A dangerous stalemate for the US economy - Leading Articles - Opinion - The Independent