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.
对美国国会来说，本周是充斥着各种“假设”的一周。众议院预算委员会主席保罗•瑞安(Paul Ryan)昨天发布了一份共和党规划，他声称这份规划能在十年内令美国告别赤字，恢复财政平衡。今天，参议院民主党将提出他们自己的规划，用来确保美国在财政上的可持续性。两党的方案都有优点——尽管瑞安提出的规划是基于一些不切实际的假设。然而，由于两个方案都不可能付诸实施，双方其实只是合演了一场戏。巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)总统是时候给这场死气沉沉的财政辩论注入一些新的动力了。目前，奥巴马尚有回旋余地，可以力争在2013年达成重大协议。