Deficit? What deficit?

摘要

Immediately after last month's congressional elections, leaders of both parties swore to halt the partisan combat that had paralysed budget policy for years. The government would not shut down or default on its debt, pledged Mitch McConnell, the Republican who will become Senate leader in January. A shutdown seems unlikely; a default even more so. But the hoped-for comity has yet to materialise. Under current arrangements the government's funding runs out on December nth and bipartisan efforts to extend it until next September have been waylaid by Republicans seeking to stop Barack Obama's order suspending deportations of millions of illegal immigrants. A separate deal to make permanent and expand a host of business tax breaks ail-but collapsed when Mr Obama signalled he would veto it. As The Economist went to press, the fate of both bills was in the balance. On December 3rd the House of Representatives passed a scaled-back one-year retroactive extension of the tax breaks; it is likely to pass the Senate.