Crises to Come

Ezra Klein over at the Washington Post's "WonkBlog" column has kindly posted a calendar of budget crises presently on the Washington calendar.

You'll find his full write-up here, but below is the brief version:

• Feb. 4: White House budget due
• March 1: The sequester, a series of draconian budget cuts, passed by Congress as a motivator (roll eyes here) kicks in.
• March 27: The government's present spending authority, the concurrent resolution AKA The Kick  the Can Down the Road Act, expires.
• April 15: Congress' deadline for adopting a budget. (Insert a second eye-roll here.)
• May 19: The debt ceiling suspension expires. If Congress doesn't act, the suspension will cast doubt on whether the United States has the political will to pay its debts. This is potentially the greatest crisis of them all. So no eye roll here, just a brief frisson of terror.