The Naked Truth/Jamala Rogers
The Recurring Debt Ceiling Debacle
As I start to write this article, the politicians have reached a tentative agreement to raise the debt ceiling after weeks of hostile bi-partisan wrangling. This is a significant breakthrough, but there are several hurdles to jump before a victory can be declared. First, the bill has to be written to include all the provisions the two sides reached — that could take days and take us to the brink.
Then comes the hard part: the bill must pass through a contentious Congress.
Although the global economic markets were shaking given the crazy uncertainty coming out of Capitol Hill, the average American is mostly unaware of the $31.4 trillion debt — why we have it and how the debt generally gets resolved. The debt issue is just part of the white noise working class people hear as they run on the daily survivor treadmill.
There is some history to the debt that I find fascinating. Since 1960, the debt ceiling has been raised 78 times. Democrats have raised it 29 times. The party which calls itself fiscally conservative has raised the debt ceiling 59 times. Hypocritical Republicans.
Apparently both Parties like living on the edge because there’s always debt — spending more than what’s in the treasury — and they always raise the ceiling. There never seems to be a serious look at the nation’s budget, changing our spending needs and wants. The average American can’t afford to engage in these kinds of bad spending practices. Our budget-balancing practice is robbing Peter to pay Paul. And when we can’t, there are dire consequences to face.
The Republicans always demand cuts before they agree to a ceiling hike. Those cuts have come from pots of money for Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, veterans’ benefits, healthcare for retired postal workers, and workers’ savings plans. In short, the cuts to balance the budget always are off the back of working families.
It’s time we the People start asking some hard questions. Why can’t these expert economists and educated lawmakers balance the budget without making us the sacrificial lambs? How is it that nearly seventy percent of the U.S. debt is held by China, Japan and the United Kingdom? What happens if they should call in their chips? Why is the military budget untouchable?
The people could also help with some possible solutions. Corporations must pay their fair share of taxes. Freeloaders like FedEx, HP, Nike, Dish Network, and Charter Communications, to name a few, pay no income tax. How about we reduce the military budget to at least the current budget for education? Currently the government spends 10 times more to maintain the country’s military dominance than investing to educate its citizens.
The government has never defaulted on its debt but there are no guarantees with the childish but dangerous polarization in Washington, DC. We probably won’t be watching the politricking until June 5, but we will feel the decision in our pockets after the deadline passes.
