One explanation for the muted reaction is that the US debt woes have been vastly eclipsed by the prospect of a debt meltdown in Europe, struggling to avert fiscal collapse in Greece and Italy, among other nations. Moreover, Wall Street reacts to expectations, and Wall Street expected the 12-member panel to fail.
"Ironically, Europe's troubles give us a little more time," says Robert Greenstein, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington.
"Problems with the euro make the dollar and US Treasurys look better relatively than they did before," he adds. "Whatever issues and concerns people have, it's still the best place to put your money."
That reprise from world markets may not last – a point acknowledged by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. But for now, fiscal crises elsewhere bought Congress and the White House some time to assess what went wrong and take another run at the problem.
With the failure of the super committee, responsibility for deficit reduction now falls back to the full Congress. But Republicans and Democrats remain as divided over a way forward as they were heading into the panel's deliberations.
Two views of the problem and solution
Republicans say the nation's fiscal crisis is rooted in a federal spending binge, period. The solution, they say, is to spend less and cut taxes.
