这听上去或许有些愤世嫉俗，但在华盛顿还能以很低的成本借到钱的时候，让任何一方大动干戈地去解决这个问题都是不太现实的。正如我们在欧洲看到的那样，哪个国家都不会主动吞下紧缩苦药，除非市场逼迫它不得已而为之。因此，即便股市对财政悬崖仍感到紧张不安，如果美国国债收益率保持接近历史低点，仍然是不足以让美国国会或总统做出任何真正的长期妥协。只有当借贷成本变得过高，才会看到政府采取实质性的措施来解决一个国家的长期财政问题，早一秒都没戏。

    译者：早稻米

    As cynical as it may sound, it is simply irrational for either side to address the deficit in any meaningful way given how cheaply it is for Washington to borrow money. As we have seen in Europe, nations won't swallow the bitter pill of austerity unless the markets force them to. So while the equity markets are jittery about the fiscal cliff that is not enough for Congress or the President to present any real long-term compromise if the yields on Treasuries remain at near all-time lows. It will only be when it becomes too expensive to borrow that you will see the government act in any meaningful way to address the nation's long term fiscal issues, not a second before.