The Hill News

The Congress now faces a choice. It must choose between the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. One or the other is certain. If House and Senate members take the easy way out of these debt talks, they and this nation will come to regret those actions. Regret defined here is an emotional and intelligent dislike for personal past behaviors. And that is clearly what they, and we, will face if we don’t turn this corner toward fiscal austerity.

The pain of regret will leave its scar for years. Even if we extend the debt ceiling in some artificial or short-term way, regret will still haunt us. For it will mean that policymakers weren’t prepared to make the difficult and lasting decisions to avoid such calamities in the future. That is why this debate embodies so many other policy discussions. Think about it â€" future negotiations over taxes, entitlements, new programs, old programs â€" they will all hinge on how this Congress emerges from these discussion! s. Will both sides agree that enough is enough, and put an end to the credit card mentality that has gripped this government?

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