BULLETIN:  BUDGET DEAL REACHED – AT 11:21 P.M. ET:  As expected by everyone who has ever seen a state or local labor negotiation, a deal was reachd just before the midnight deadline to fund the federal government for the next five months.  Notice the difference?  From WaPo:

Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have reached an agreement that would avert a federal government shutdown, yielding more spending cuts for Republicans while giving Democrats a key win on an issue related to abortion rights, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office announced Friday night.

The deal to fund the federal government for the next five months will include $39 billion in spending cuts and will drop language related to Planned Parenthood. Lawmakers still need to approve a short-term stopgap funding bill before midnight, when the federal government will run out of money and cease operations.

COMMENT:  We don't have any real details just yet.  The spending cuts are pretty minimal, considering the size of the annual deficit and the national debt.  We'll have to do far better than this to avoid a national economic catastrophe.

April 8, 2011