Earlier in the week, many Americans breathed a sigh of relief. The perennial "debt-ceiling crisis" was once again put to bed, and the government resumed normal function. As crises like these become increasingly commonplace, the politicians involved bring out larger rhetorical guns, while adopting progressively more futile solutions.

The doomsday rhetoric adopted by both the Republicans and the Democrats fits in perfectly with the evasive approach that has become the norm in American politics. Instead of addressing important issues directly, politicians leap into exercises of misdirection. The country bounces from scandal to scandal, from crisis to crisis, all while the politicians in Washington obfuscate and ignore the root causes of our nation's problems-which only creates more problems.

A "debt-ceiling crisis" has only one root cause: a national debt that has grown to an unprecedented scale. The debt ceiling is a legal limit on borrowing; when the government reaches it, they should examine the origins of the debt problem rather than searching for ways to double down and pile on even more debt. The source of the problem is that the government spends more than it takes in. Yet, despite this, the notion of balancing the budget gained little political traction in either party.

Instead, the Republicans rallied behind cries of "defund Obamacare!" and dramatically stormed the barricades in front of war memorials. Meanwhile, the Democrats insisted that we "pay our bills" by borrowing even more money-conveniently forgetting, of course, that having debt means that you aren't paying your own bills in the first place. All the two parties had in common were their dire warnings that if their plan was not followed, the country would suffer a disaster.

Our political system is following a simple pattern. First, a government-created crisis or scandal comes into public view. Immediately after, those who are responsible attempt to shift the blame to others. Whoever gets stuck with the blame then attempts to frame the crisis or scandal as insignificant, and as merely a political ploy by their opposition. Finally, to look like they've solved the problem, the politicians sell the public a patchwork solution which treats the symptom-but not the cause-and wait to hype up the next crisis or scandal, at which point the cycle repeats.

Essentially, our politicians create problems and then dive away from their consequences while doing their best to convince us that they cannot be blamed. Consider the last headline-grabbing scandal: the National Security Agency spying revelations. The Democrats tried to blame the Bush administration, while the Republicans pointed out President Obama's hypocrisy on the issue. The blame fell on the executive branch, who then tried to say that everything was under control. When that failed, the president dubbed the entire thing a "phony scandal." To divert to a phony solution, he promised to clamp down on leaks which supposedly "risk national security," while Congress held a series of fruitless hearings on the topic.

Then, the issue was forgotten in the midst of our debt ceiling crisis, where we saw the same old dog and pony show. The Democrats assailed the Republicans for shutting down the government and hurting the economy in the short term, but the Republicans blamed the Democrats for being unwilling to negotiate about bad laws. Since this was primarily a political stunt by both parties, they both blustered to their supporters that they would "win" politically. However, when most of the public put the fault with the Republicans, they tried to squirm out of the situation.

To sweep this defeat under the rug, the Republicans agreed to a compromise deal that would kick the can down the road, with the hope that it would buy them time to "win" when the next crisis or scandal rolls around in a month or two.

The upshot of this situation is that both parties' refusal to engage with the true causes of our problems will cost us far more in the long term. A provision in the Reid-McConnell Deal, which ended the shutdown, effectively eliminates the debt ceiling by authorizing the Treasury department to raise it unilaterally-meaning that Congress will no longer vote to raise it, but rather will vote against an automatic raise. Assuming that President Obama would continue to support raising the debt ceiling and would veto any bill that would prevent this, it would take a two-thirds majority to prevent the debt ceiling from being raised.

We have entered a de facto state of unlimited borrowing for as long as this policy remains implemented. This is tremendously reckless. Default was a genuine concern under a week ago; adding even more debt only increases the risk of this occurring in the long term. If the government continues to borrow at its current rate-and there is no evidence to suggest that it will slow its pace-then we are in genuine danger of the government's creditors losing confidence in being repaid. That could have destructive effects on the value of the United States' sovereign debt, which would send catastrophic shockwaves throughout the financial markets.

Today, despite the clarion calls of "crisis averted" from Washington, we are one step closer to an even larger crisis. Those Americans who breathed sighs of relief were fooled by the partisan shell games in Congress. We must keep our eyes on the ball, and refuse to be duped by the politicians who only seek to expand their own power in the short term.

To do so, it is crucial to focus on the root issues of our problems that will affect us in the long run. Rather than being suckered in by media hype and partisan rhetoric when major issues arise, each of us needs to maintain a clear head with a firm grasp on the fundamental principles at hand. The responsibility to do so lies with you, me and every American. If you shirk it, you will surrender the future to the politicians who have created today's crises-and you will deserve the world they create for you.
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