Faster than you can say "business as usual," freshman Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee have begun to execute Wall Street's agenda.
Call it the austerity death trap.
Under these circumstances, the harder a country works to cut its debt, the worse the ratio becomes - because the economy shrinks even faster.
Greece is already in the trap. Spain and Italy are perilously close. Even Britain, France, and Germany are tip-toeing up to it. And now us.
Deficit hawks have to understand: The first step must be to revive growth and jobs. That way, revenues increase and the debt/GDP ratio drops. Only then - when the economy is back on track - do you start cutting.