Polarization and the Fiscal Future of the United States

The United States faces a severe fiscal crisis, a crisis unparalleled since the immediate post-World War II era. Unlike then, the capacity for the U.S. to survive this crisis without serious consequence will depend on our capacity to overcome growing political polarization. This paper explores the gravity of the debt situation, outlines the recent history leading to the crisis, investigates the capacity of the U.S. to solve the crisis in a time of political polarization, and speculates on what we might expect in the future.