During the debt-ceiling debates of 2011, I pointed out that Washington’s gears were gummed up not strictly by incompetence or intransigence, but also by sincere disagreements on economic policy.

Conservatives thought taxes and spending were too high. Congressional Democrats thought the rich were not taxed enough. And President Obama, at first, thought we just needed to borrow more money — a “clean” increase in the debt ceiling. I wrote: