President Obama signs the Budget Control Act of 2011 in the Oval Office of the White House. (Pete Souza/White House via Bloomberg / August 1, 2011)

So, we finally have a deal on the U.S. DEBT CEILING and it was passed by the House of Representatives last night and is probably destined to become law. But, was all the fighting over how to cut spending really worth it? MAYBE – only if this is the first step on a long road back to fiscal sustainability. And the special commission is the next step. I intend to closely monitor its recommendations and Congress’ reaction so as to determine whether we continue to move down the road.

The decisions yet to be made on spending cuts and new/higher taxes are difficult. Some decisions will have a negative impact on the U.S. economy. I continue to analyze the details of the Bill in order to determine the extent of this negative impact. I intend to report in the next two Weekly Commentary on the results.