Gridlock

Bill Ford A future beyond traffic gridlock

Unfortunately, America s domestic political gridlock often blocks this.

Whether such sources of gridlock can be overcome remains to be seen.

Rising budget deficits will poison US domestic politics and lead to budgetary gridlock.

Gridlock has abated, and you can almost get around the city by car these days.

Clearly, the US political system cannot be written off (especially if partisan gridlock is cyclical).

Funes administration seems to be doomed to political gridlock, a chronic ailment of Latin America s presidential regimes.

The US faces serious problems public debt, weak secondary education, and political gridlock, to name just a few.

Prolonged negotiations and gridlock are not acceptable, because today s most serious problems cannot wait for perfect institutional solutions.

More broadly, the gridlock will prevent the passage of important structural reforms that the US needs to boost growth.

But when such reforms involve sacrifices by ordinary citizens and benefit society s most privileged groups, political gridlock and instability invariably follow.

Political gridlock in Washington and in the United States Congress demonstrates the absence of the bipartisanship needed to address America s fiscal issues.

Moreover, political gridlock over fiscal adjustment is likely to persist, regardless of whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney wins November s presidential election.

Unfortunately, the proverbial Washington political gridlock leaves little hope for fixing the problem, adding to the impression of a giant with clay feet.

Although the reasons for gridlock differ across countries, the bottom line is that few politicians anywhere are having much success in limbering up their economies.

But uncertainty, lack of confidence, and policy paralysis or gridlock could easily cause value destruction to overshoot, inflicting extensive damage on all parts of the global economy.

China s government, as prone to political maneuvering and policy gridlock as any, appears to agree that immediate economic growth is crucial and that an 8 annual rate is essential.

Despite the current gridlock, however, the 111th Congress managed to pass a major fiscal stimulus, health care reform, financial regulation, an arms control treaty, and revision of the military policy on homosexuality.

It would be even worse if European ministers, frustrated with gridlock over exchange rates, started sharing ideas for creatively managing their budgets to stimulate short term demand, rather than long term growth.

Nor is Calderón finding it easy to negotiate with the PRI, failing to build a coalition government, which he has repeatedly proclaimed as the solution to the gridlock that has cursed Mexico since 1997.

Just over a year ago, the Finnish EU presidency failed to break the gridlock over the Cyprus trade issue, illustrating again the limited value of trying to agree partial solutions and confidence building measures.

And President Barack Obama s cancellation of his trip to Asia last autumn, owing to domestic political gridlock in the US Congress and the resulting government shutdown, made a poor impression on the region s leaders.

While sitting in the car in rush hour gridlock on US 101, fiddle with the dial on the radio and happen upon a National Public Radio report about an attempted coup in your country.

On the contrary, there will be a significant fiscal drag in 2012, and political gridlock in the run up to the presidential election in November will prevent the authorities from addressing long term fiscal issues.

CAMBRIDGE With the approach of the US Congressional elections, questions about the health of America s political institutions and the future of its global leadership have become rampant, with some citing partisan gridlock as evidence of America s decline.

Because the expected gridlock in parliament would make reforms less likely, companies might hold off on investment, while consumers would be more likely to keep their wallets closed, because official policy would be even less clear than it is now.

Political gridlock in Washington and in the United States Congress demonstrates the absence of the bipartisanship needed to address America s fiscal issues. In the United Kingdom, a hung parliament has resulted in a coalition government that will have a hard time implementing fiscal discipline.

To begin with, the FMLN is short of a congressional majority, which remains in the hands of its right wing opponents, ARENA and its long time allies, the small PCN. Funes administration seems to be doomed to political gridlock, a chronic ailment of Latin America s presidential regimes.

To be sure, although 2004 was one of the region s better years in terms of economic growth, the outcome of two decades of so called structural reform remains disappointing. Inequality has increased, poverty has been reduced only slightly at best, employment remains stubbornly low, corruption, violence, crime, and political gridlock continue unabated, and foreign investment and free trade agreements with the US have yet to deliver the goods.