That is what readers of his column will undoubtedly conclude when they see him say that if President Obama agrees to a deal with large reductions in spending:

“Credit markets would find it reassuring that the federal government is not completely paralyzed.”

Those who have access to information about credit markets know that they are already very reassured as demonstrated by their willingness to hold U.S. government debt at extremely low interest rates. The interest rate on 10-year Treasury bonds has been hovering near 3.0 percent. It is unlikely that any deal on the budget will lower this significantly or that any further reduction in rates would have a noticeable impact on the economy.