A banner week for inequality and its promoters

On Tuesday, we learned that the economy's modest improvements last year didn't help the poverty rate any or prevent income inequality from being as bad as ever. Thursday the House zeroed in on these social ills and did its damnedest to make them worse, passing massive cuts to the food stamps program that does so much to keep Americans above the poverty line.

Then this morning House Republicans moved forward on their "Defund Obamacare or the whole government gets it!" plan. Quite a week.

It's tempting to write that last one off as just a reflection of how ridiculous our political system has become: Obamacare isn't going away, and everyone in Congress knows it. But GOP House members have to answer to hardline activists in their own party far more than they do to moderate or liberal constituents—gerrymandering (a bipartisan pastime) made sure of that—so they have to fight the president's signature achievement to the end. That's where their political incentives are, even if their own leadership would rather just govern. The problem is mostly about what the whole system has become.