Minority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell Offers Democrats an Out
When it comes to reckless spending in Washington, there is no such thing as Republican or Democrats.
These two compete against each to see which one can spend the most while taking the country down the road of insolvency.
The fight to raise the debt limit continues, meanwhile Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, is even suggesting the United States get rid of the debt ceiling all together. This is crazy talk my fellow Americans.
To those of you who do not know the meaning of the debt ceiling, it is simple.
The debt ceiling is the maximum amount of money the United States government can borrow by issuing bonds. Once the national debt touches the debt ceiling, the Treasury department needs to step in to pay government obligations and expenditures until the ceiling is raised by Congress.
In the event the debt ceiling is not raised, the United States government could default on its debt.
Our government continues to spend and borrow money we do not have therefore the debt ceiling needs to be raised to meet those obligations.
How have we got here? In April of 2021, the United States debt hit the $28 trillion mark for the first time ever in our history. This is how you get yourself in a financial bind.
Imagine if you were to call your credit card company and ask for them to raise your credit limit despite the fact you can barely make minimum payments. They will laugh at you.
Then come the threats of a government shutdown. Let us be honest about what it really means and not the apocalyptic picture our government wants to paint.
Essential services and personnel continue to operate. This includes the military, law enforcement, and anything essential to the operation of our government. Welfare checks, military pensions, Social Security benefits, and social services do not stop.
The worst-case scenario is a paid vacation for non-essential government workers. They are sent home and at the end of the shutdown they get paid for work they did not perform.
This happened back in 1995 when Newt Gingrich refused to negotiate with Bill Clinton for higher government spending. It went into 1996, and despite the efforts by the Republicans not to pay furloughed government employees, they eventually caved in. One positive was a balanced budget was agreed upon for the first time in decades.
In 2011, Obama faced the same issue with Republicans asking for deficit reductions in exchange for a raise in the debt ceiling. It was so bad that the Standards & Poor (S&P), stripped the United States of its 70-year triple A rating.
In 2013, the government shutdown for 16 days over the Affordable Care Act. What did Congress do? Eliminated the debt ceiling. Very fiscally responsible if you ask me.
Since then, the debt ceiling has been raised in 2014, 2015, and 2017, and 2019, when the debt reached $22 trillion dollars.
Now, the Republicans are at it again. Mitch McConnell, along with several other “Republicans in Name Only,” senators, has offered the Democrats a “short term solution.” In a statement, McConnell said the Republicans would support a deal to temporarily suspend the debt ceiling a “fixed dollar amount.”
Nothing is temporary in Washington. According to McConnell, the agreement would cover current spending levels into December, giving the Democrats an out to find a more permanent solution.
What about stopping reckless spending and living within our fiscal means?
The debt ceiling was supposed to be a measure to regulate government spending and to keep the government fiscally responsible. Since World War I, the debt ceiling has been raised over seventy-eight times to avoid government default on its debt. Obviously, it is not working.
Meanwhile, the Democrats in Congress want to spend like drunken sailors by adding trillions of dollars to an already bloated government debt.
Do not hold your breath, the Republicans will cave in, the debt ceiling will be raised along with more spending.
Wash, Rinse, and Repeat!