John Carney Sums Up Current Economic And Fiscal Conundrum

CNBC's John Carney posted an interesting article on CNBC.com today which sums up the current economic and fiscal conundrum the United States finds itself in. Carney critiques an op-ed written by PIMCO Chief Executive Officer and co-CIO Mohamed El-Erian. In the op-ed, El-Erian argues that the "economy needs political courage that transcends expediency in favor of long-term solutions."

He then goes on to list "housing reform, medium-term budget rules, pro-growth tax reforms, investments in physical and technological infrastructure, job retraining, greater support for education and scientific research and better nets to protect the most vulnerable segments of society," as manifestations of real "political change."

In response to El-Erian's argument Carney notes that while all of these changes would certainly be of benefit, they are essentially impossible to have at the same time.

He writes, "So political courage consists of listing nine things every one simply loves. Nine things we can't have all at the same time. Spending on infrastructure and tech, spending on job retraining, spending on science, spending on welfare, spending on education. And tax cuts. And housing reform. Oh, and budget discipline. This is the kind of spoiled-child, 'you can have it all' junk that got us in this mess in the first place."

This pretty much sums up our current predicament and underscores the challenges that face our elected officials in Washington D.C. One thing is for sure, sorting this mess out will be far from easy.