Congress's dilemma: Budget goals versus political reality

Whoever coined the term “budget reconciliation,” in crafting the 1974 Budget Reform Act, deserves an ingenious award for a brilliant paradox that accurately depicts the current process in Congress. 

The paradox of budget reconciliation is that budgets are contentious, fluid and divisive moving targets, whereas "reconciliation" means coming together on a mutually agreeable, consensus outcome. The two terms collide when fiscal reality, which has chased the tail of all members’ worthy goals...