The impending “fiscal cliff” is the most thoroughly predicted disaster since the end of the Mayan calendar. The problem is no one is willing to design and implement a real solution that has any chance of bipartisan support.

The cycle of dysfunction has existed for decades. The federal Budget Act of 1974 created what was supposed to be a rational process for planning, approving and implementing government spending. It quickly became an empty paper exercise as appropriators ignored the budget resolutions. When the difference became embarrassingly stark, the Senate simply gave up on passing budgets at all.