This is an opinion column.

Please forgive me as I’ve lost count on how many debt limit columns I’ve written over the years. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s full-throated pitch for the latest reason to legislatively ignore the federal debt limit reminds me of Gov. Jeb Bush begging his audience to “please clap.” Our political leaders have absolutely failed to operate a government within the bounds of the revenues they extract from us. The worst part is we let them and blame the other political party.

Nobody is righteous when it comes to federal spending. The supposed conservatives who rail against the House-passed McCarthy/Biden debt ceiling compromise have presented absolutely no plan which could possibly pass the House and Senate to become law. Default is not a serious option unless you’re the kind of elected official that just likes to watch America burn.

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Net interest payments on the federal debt were $475 billion in 2022. We get absolutely nothing for those dollars other than the use of someone else’s money. If we default on our national debt payments, the cost of borrowing skyrockets. Debt service would crowd out other spending priorities in a disastrous debt-fueled snowball. If we choose to keep paying our debt obligations with Congress at an impasse, government paychecks and benefits might not be paid. Regardless, the American economy would wilt like a juiced-up body-builder coming off steroids.

While defaulting on our national obligations isn’t a wise course of action, neither is the status quo. America unmistakably needs to come off its debt-driven high, but majorities in Congress have no interest in raising taxes on typical American families or materially cutting spending.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act is a perfect example of Washington’s twisted financial reality. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects federal deficits averaging more than $2 trillion per year from 2024-2033. At the same time, the CBO finds the Fiscal Responsibility Act would reduce said deficits by roughly $1.5 trillion over the next decade.

Historic…said absolutely nobody with a basic understanding of federal budgeting.

This is how the political class lies to America by strategically conveying the truth. $1.5 trillion in spending reductions is indeed a massive amount. More than $18 trillion in deficit spending over the same time period is a fiscal nightmare betraying our nation. Both are true statements. Only one accurately demonstrates failure of American political leadership.

My favorite part of the debt ceiling deal is the expanded work requirements for nutrition assistance programs championed by Republicans. While the policy changes make plenty of sense, CBO projects they will result in $2.1 billion in more spending. Sure, it’s a drop in the bucket, but the optics are comical.

Stop with the balanced budget talk. Conservatives haven’t won enough elections to make that happen. It’s a great talking point with a snowball’s chance in hell of becoming law. A massive “win” for Republicans in the recent negotiations would have been keeping federal deficit spending around $1 trillion a year for the next two years. Let me repeat. The most conservative position still tethered to reality is annually spending a trillion dollars America doesn’t have.

Democrats must reckon with their ambiguous plans to get deficits under control by taxing the wealthy. They don’t even have the votes in their own party to enact truly confiscatory taxes on the rich or increase tax burdens on working families. Simply repeating “pay their fair share” is about as viable a path to fiscal sanity as the time honored talking point of eliminating “waste, fraud, and abuse.” In short, liberals don’t have close to enough votes for the kinds of tax policies necessary to radically reduce federal deficits without cutting spending.

Expecting our politicians to operate within the parameters of a budget is apparently too tall an order, but the buck stops with us. Yes, the other party is part of the problem, but so is the one we prefer. We’re building a financial crisis of our own making.

We shouldn’t clap for our leaders barely avoiding an economic calamity. We should be embarrassed they can’t seem to do any better.

Smith is a recovering political attorney with three boys, two dogs, a bearded dragon, and an extremely patient wife. He’s a partner in Triptych Media, a business strategy wonk, and a regular on talk radio. Please direct outrage or agreement to [email protected] or @DCameronSmith on Twitter.