It is hypothesis week on Capitol Hill. Yesterday, Paul Ryan, the House budget chairman, published a Republican plan he claims would restore the US deficit to balance within a decade. Today, Senate Democrats will offer their own plan to put the US on a fiscally sustainable course. Both have merits – although Mr Ryan’s is based on some unrealistic assumptions. But since neither stands a chance of being enacted, they are chiefly an exercise in showmanship. It is time for President Barack Obama to inject some ambition into the sterile US fiscal debate. There is still scope for him to go for a grand bargain in 2013.
對美國國會來說，本周是充斥著各種“假設”的一周。眾議院預算委員會主席保羅?瑞安(Paul Ryan)昨天發布了一份共和黨規劃，他聲稱這份規劃能在十年內令美國告別赤字，恢復財政平衡。今天，參議院民主黨將提出他們自己的規劃，用來確保美國在財政上的可持續性。兩黨的方案都有優點——盡管瑞安提出的規劃是基于一些不切實際的假設。然而，由于兩個方案都不可能付諸實施，雙方其實只是合演了一場戲。巴拉克?奧巴馬(Barack Obama)總統是時候給這場死氣沉沉的財政辯論注入一些新的動力了。目前，奧巴馬尚有回旋余地，可以力爭在2013年達成重大協議。