In a sense, the fate of pay-go doesn’t matter; nothing important that the Democratic House proposes is going to become law, anyway. In a broader sense, however, it does; the debate on the rules will set the tone for a fiscal and economic argument between fundis and realos that will entertain us through the campaign, and possibly thereafter.
The left is correct to say that it is stupid to impose spending limits during severe economic downturns. It is also stupid, however, to say that no limits should apply at a time when unemployment is below 4 percent. We aren’t exactly living in the Great Depression, and the economic laws of gravity still apply; running huge deficits will lead to crowding-out, inflation, higher interest rates, and a squeeze on the welfare state.
The GOP has set the tone by pretending that its enormous tax cuts pay for themselves. The country will ultimately pay the price for it. The Democrats may want to have their own fiscal party, but someone has to be the adults in the room, and it had better be them, because no one else is volunteering for the job.