Mediation Minute Solves the Debt Crisis

Reviewing the options for the debt ceiling negotiations in Politico's Playbook this morning, I realized it's time to apply what you’ve been learning in my Mediation Minute videos!

Politico says the negotiators may choose to “KICK THE CAN: Yes, the parties could agree to raise the debt ceiling for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, giving negotiators more time to land an agreement.” So, why don’t they? Because to do so is potentially embarrassing, but as I said in E is for Embarrassing Offers, “Make an embarrassing offer - you can use it to your advantage if you’re willing to put yourself out there.” Being the side that avoids a crisis will give you greater moral authority in the continuing negotiations - authority that can be leveraged.

Another choice is "GANG WARFARE: If there’s a partisan stalemate in Washington, you can frequently find a bipartisan ‘gang’ of deal-making moderate senators willing to at least talk about how to come to a deal.” So, where are they? As I said in R is for Reset the Table, “Most people enter a negotiation thinking only of the ‘us vs. them’ or ‘win-lose’ mentality.” I suspect this is as true in Washington, DC, these days. But, “bringing in another player creates an opportunity to have more ideas and more permutations upon those ideas … in the form of more offers.” Maybe this is the real reason we haven’t seen this strategy employed: "resetting the table will create more work for in the negotiation, but it can provide a necessary shake-up to a negotiation that is not getting you the offers you need for success.”

We also could see an alternative to a deal along the traditional cut-and-spend terms, or as Politico put it, “ENTER THE PROBLEM SOLVERS: Some Democrats privately speculate that if worse comes to worst, they might be able to convince enough moderate Republicans to raise the debt ceiling in return for some sort of deficit-busting outside commission. That idea emerged from the House’s bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, which boasts more than two dozen GOP lawmakers.” This is an excellent example of what I discussed in Plan B for BATNA. In that video, I discussed how your "BATNA is the Best Alternative to A Negotiated Agreement" you have available. "It’s what allows you to have a legitimate backbone in a negotiation." As I said in the video, “Some people are hard-nosed negotiators by nature and will walk away from a good deal to show that they are hard-nosed. Others will do so without confidence but for the sake of negotiation performance art. Yet, others walk away because they have a BATNA and know they have a better opportunity. The difference between these is planning.”

Hopefully, there are adults in the District who are planning right now!

Finally, there's a discussion of the 'out there' options such as “DARK BRANDON RISES: It’s received a lot of attention lately, but the idea that Biden could act unilaterally and cite the Constitution’s 14th Amendment (or, even more fancifully, mint a trillion-dollar coin) to continue paying the nation’s bills is much easier said than done. Proponents argue that the president has the power to save the nation from economic disaster — without engaging in messy negotiations over spending cuts or work requirements for anti-poverty programs.”

However, the odds are long, and the chaos it could cause may be nearly as bad as a default! So, why would you even talk about it? Because, as I said in F is for Fake It, “If you do not have a better alternative, then fake it.” While “having a BATNA can give you leverage in your negotiation ... sometimes, you don’t see the BATNA, or you haven’t done your homework as well as you should [to be able to] realize your BATNA. In those cases, that’s when you need to psych yourself out." Otherwise, "the absence of an alternative will lead to you taking a deal and foreclosing on better options for lack of immediate availability. So, lie to yourself if need be and fake it."