Biden needs to compromise on debt ceiling. Otherwise, we're all headed toward disaster.

Someone’s got to give.

We’re speeding toward the end of April, and President Joe Biden and GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy remain at an impasse over the debt ceiling.

The United States could default on its debt – something that’s never happened before – as soon as June (although that date is likely later in the summer) if a deal isn’t reached. So time is of the essence. Otherwise, the country faces disastrous financial consequences.

Surely, neither Biden nor McCarthy wants that.

They each seem certain that they could pin the blame on the other party. That shouldn’t be the goal, however. If America were to default on its financial obligations, we’d all lose. Yet some economic observers think it’s going to take a financial crisis before anything gets done.

“It's really a scary prospect,” Desmond Lachman, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told me. “For a serious country to be in this position, it's ridiculous.”

McCarthy has a debt ceiling plan. Biden should hear him out

McCarthy last week announced his debt ceiling plan, and it includes some hefty spending cuts – as he promised earlier this year. It also preserves Medicare and Social Security, which he had also said wouldn’t be part of debt negotiations.

The “Limit, Save, Grow Act” includes $4.5 trillion in cuts, which would come from reallocating unspent COVID-19 relief funds and other spending limits, in exchange for raising the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion.

“President Biden has a choice,” McCarthy said on the House floor Wednesday. “Come to the table and stop playing partisan political games – or cover his ears, refuse to negotiate and risk bumbling his way into the first default in our nation's history.”

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So far, Biden seems content to cover his ears. The president has shown zero interest in meeting with McCarthy or discussing his plan. From the beginning, Biden has said he wouldn’t “negotiate” on the debt ceiling, and he’s sticking to it.

The White House continues to deflect any blame for the stalled talks.

“It’s not the president that's risking this,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday. “It is Congress that is risking this. These political stunts you're seeing from Speaker McCarthy and the MAGA wing – this is dangerous. These are political stunts that will have long-lasting effects.”

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Part of McCarthy’s plan would roll back aspects of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, including funding for the 87,000 new IRS agents and tax incentives for green energy investments. Republicans also want to do away with Biden’s $400 billion student loan forgiveness plan (which awaits a Supreme Court decision).

Stop playing politics with country’s future

Biden has admitted that a government default could “destroy the economy.” Yet he isn’t acting with any urgency to avoid such a calamity. Apparently, his pride is more important.

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While Biden seems content to do nothing, some Democrats are getting restless with the inaction – fearing the potential public backlash if it looks like they aren’t working hard enough to avoid a debt crisis. They’re calling for a sit-down between Biden and McCarthy, especially if McCarthy gets the votes to pass his plan this week.

“They’ve got to do it soon,” Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, told Politico.

Dingell has long been a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group that actually tries to get things done in Congress.

Getting things done in a divided government requires compromise. It's unlikely Biden or McCarthy will get everything they want, but it’s in the nation’s best interest if they resolve this sooner than later.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques 

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden risks disaster on debt ceiling. Should negotiate with McCarthy.