From the Washington Post:
The agreement could immediately lift the cloud of uncertainty over the economy. It would end a political stalemate that could have caused the United States to default on its obligations for the first time. Over the long term, the deal could help free the nation from what is fast becoming a crushing debt.
But, many economists say, the agreement could endanger the anemic economic recovery — because of both what the deal includes and what it doesn’t. The government would cut back on spending, which has softened the blow of the slowdown, while failing to renew measures, such as a payroll tax cut, that have put money in consumers’ pockets.
The debt deal represents a striking reversal from a year ago, when jobs were atop the government’s agenda and both parties were arguing over who had the best plan to increase employment. But even as the agreement threatens to tamp down growth this year and next, it doesn’t go nearly as far as financial analysts and some senior officials had hoped toward reining in the national debt later this decade.
In short, some economists warn, deficit savings are too modest in the future and too severe in the present.
The Debt Crisis Bill could possibly crater Northern Virginia’s prosperity by immediately cutting hundreds of billions of dollars out of defense spending. The defense industry is one of the engines driving the train here in Northern Virginia and has been the cause of our prosperity while other areas, even in Virginia languished with tempid economy.
