Quote of the Week

I'm back at my desk (and trying to catch up with the news flow) after a semi-extended break, and my first order of business is to give you your Quote of the Week, which I was unable to post yesterday.

The national conversation this week has of course been dominated by the debt ceiling talks (possibly because everyone in Washington insists on yelling so damn loud, but I digress), so it's only natural that those talks should be the source for this week's Quote. Without further ado, I turn things over to Senator Lindsey Graham.

This week's QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It’s a $3 trillion package that will allow $7 trillion to be added to the deficit over the next decade... We’re no longer running toward oblivion, we’re walking toward it.” 
                                        - Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

I've got my issues with Sen. Graham (and, frankly, with the state of South Carolina in general), but on this point I think he's pretty much dead on. At best, we've very slightly slowed our rate of approach toward financial insolvency.

For more evidence on that point, look no further than this graphic, courtesy of Businessweek.

So think twice before cheering this debt deal... it's not really a big win for America, as the markets tried to tell us yesterday.

[Washington Post]
[Bloomberg Businessweek]
(h/t Barry Ritholtz)