All of the plans on the table for solving the debt crisis, including the finalized plan, are far removed from the needs and wants of ordinary Americans. If these types of plans—plans that cut and compromise basic social services, rather than demand that corporations and the wealthy contribute their fair share—are proposed in the short term, how are we supposed to fix a long term debt crisis manufactured by a political system that refuses to build the infrastructures necessary to sustain public investments, economic recovery and prosperity?

The Nation‘s Katrina vanden Heuvel joined National Affairs editor Yuval Levin on NPR’s All Things Considered on Friday to critique the debt compromises coming out of Washington and their longterm consequences.

—Anna Lekas Miller