links for 2010-11-26

Even as work continues to repair our financial infrastructure and get the economy moving again, we need urgent action to forestall the next financial crisis. I fear that one will start in Washington. Total federal debt has doubled in the past seven years, to almost $14 trillion. That's more than $100,000 for every American household. This explosive growth in federal borrowing is a result of not just the financial crisis but also government unwillingness over many years to make the hard choices necessary to rein in our long-term structural deficit.

Senate Republicans have endorsed a call for a constitutional amendment requiring the government to balance its budget after Tea Party candidates made erasing the deficit a rallying cry throughout the U.S. election campaign. While the calls may be urgent, even Washington’s leading deficit foes say it will take decades to balance the books.