Barack Obama, the US president, has reached an agreement with House and Senate leaders to avoid a US debt default.

After weeks of haggling and brinkmanship, senior US politicians have finally agreed in principal on a deal to raise the country's borrowing limit.
 
But the agreement has to be voted in by both houses of Congress and when Obama announced the deal he said it was not what he had hoped to achieve.
 
So is this a real remedy or a temporary patch up?

Inside Story discusses with guests: Karen Young, a professor of Political Science at the American University of Sharjah; Michael Finger, a communications specialist for Euro Pacific Capital; and David Moore, an American worker.

This episode of Inside Story aired on Monday, August 1, 2011.