Maybe the soap operas have disappeared from television. And maybe they have not. The posturing over the debt ceiling negotiations have been as melodramatic as As The World Turns with a bit of Days of our Lives tossed in.

Melodramas are a big part of politics, of course. Always will be. When elections loom, they grow bigger. And when a president needs some good press, they grow immense. Especially when he’s already begun his campaign for the White House. And especially when his opponents are already bushwacking him at every turn.

That is not all that has been going on with these negotiations. There are items of substance being negotiated. How much we will aim to trim from big benefit programs. How much we will cut or raise taxes. And who we will whack with any tax increases.

The figures are huge. In the trillions. However, the trillions will be spread over many years. So the annual savings are not that big. And the sad thing is that these battles will have to be fought again and again over the next few years. That is because a $2 or $3 or $4 trillion cut over ten years is not going to be enough. If they raise taxes, whatever they raise will not be enough.