Woe be the republic if we clamp a lid on spending. Or so the liberal elite says. But it looks like the Keynesians are standing out there alone on this one.
A new Reuters poll tells the tale:
Some 71 percent of those surveyed oppose increasing the borrowing authority, the focus of a brewing political battle over federal spending. Only 18 percent support an increase.
The poll underscores the tough task ahead for U.S. lawmakers as the debt nears its current ceiling of $14.3 trillion. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner last week warned that a failure to raise the borrowing limit in the coming months could lead to “catastrophic economic consequences”.
Republicans, who won control of the House of Representatives in November on a promise to scale back government, hope to pair any debt-ceiling hike with a commitment from President Barack Obama to reduce long-term spending.
The liberal elite, on the other hand, do not comprehend the concept of cutting back.
“There’s an iceberg on the horizon, Captain.”
“Full speed ahead.”
Source: Reuters.com
This post was last modified on January 15, 2011
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I'd like some informed comments from readers here as to a concern [regarding not raising the limit] I'd read a bit about: the risk of debt default and subsequent fall (NOT merely a decline) of the US Dollar.
Ed, it's like this...raising the debt ceiling has everything to do with spending money, money we don't have, but nothing to do with cutting spending in any significant way. If we don't reign-in spending, it won't matter what we raise the debt ceiling to.
"Shutting down the government" wouldn't be so bad if they would stop paying they people two weeks later anyway. I wish my job would get shut down all the time like that.
I can't remember which former politician it was who said how when he was in office they had to make hard choices to raise the debit limit, and it didn't seem *that* bad at the time. But then he said, "But that was about 10 trillion dollars ago. So the words 'just one more time' have lost all credibility and meaning."
Pretty dire Kip, but when it comes to this don't you think it would actually be time to put a real set of crosshairs on the persons of every marxist-socialist leader one can get their crosshairs on, in this country. Armed insurrection can't be too far around the corner if '...suspension of the Constitution is “inevitable.”'
Besides, who are the commies going to use to stop us...the police, the National Guard, or maybe the Mexican Army, or the Canadia Mounted Police? They have already successfully squirreled our national military assets in places like Baghdad and Kondahar!
@hisham
I'm pretty hopeful that it won't ever come to that. I don't mean to be Pollyanna but I think when it comes down to it the American people will be able to right the ship through vigorous debate and voting, they've just got to keep waking up like they have been doing for the last couple of years or so.
I added the Mises quote because I think it is very revealing and would be especially revealing to those that believe that the mechanics of socialism and democracy are compatible. I am always amazed at how his work anticipates so much of what is occurring today. But then again it may just be that the ideologies of freedom and control have been sparring with each other for a long long time. The conflicts of Jefferson and Hamilton kinda bear that out.
If I had to be pegged, I'd say I'm more of a Jeffersonian kind of a guy than a Hamiltonian kind of a guy, and when it comes to hitorical/social/political philosophers, I'm more of a Catherine Drinker Bowen type than I am a Ludwig von Mises type.
I'd like to be counted on the side of Jefferson. Don't know Catherine Drinker Bowen. But I've got an amazon gift card and a little bit of free time . . . so I'm looking to resolve that pretty soon!
" It is an illusion to believe that a system of planned socialism could be operated according to democratic methods of government. Democracy is inextricably linked with capitalism. It cannot exist where there is planning. Let us refer to the words of the most eminent of the contemporary advocates of socialism. Professor Harold Laski declared that the attainment of power by the British Labour Party in the normal parliamentary fashion must result in a radical transformation of parliamentary government. A socialist administration needs "guarantees" that its work of transformation would not be "disrupted" by repeal in event of its defeat at the polls. Therefore the suspension of the Constitution is "inevitable." "
Ludwig von Mises
""Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner last week warned that a failure to raise the borrowing limit in the coming months could lead to “catastrophic economic consequences”.""
Geithner is a clown and this statement proves it. If the House and Senate do not approve raising the limit it will do two things: First, it will force the government to cut back on spending, which is a huge part of our economic woes as it is. Second, it will prove to private industries that our gooberment is serious about changing their ways. That change will in turn encourage private businesses to invest more, providing more jobs, which provides more tax money for the government. More jobs equals more money. Why is it so hard for the elected elite in our country to understand this?
For the Communist Democrat Party “catastrophic economic consequences” equals spending cuts...no, no it means cutting back on the rate of spending increase aka "Draconian spending cuts."
Glenn Beck was scary today but totally necessary to know...
We have the muslims (radical) in one side and we have the Chinese on the other. One who will kill me for being a Christian and another who will imprison me for being a Christian. One will kill me for being me and the other will demand enslavement from me.
Once this country goes to hell for its massive spending and being indebted to the Middle East and China (and I hope it won't) I have no where else to run. This is it as Reagan so prophesied. No where else to go... I hope that all the people that contributed to this disaster even 100 years ago are proud of themselves. They have ruined us all. The only way out is to stop the spending and to save, pay all debts and try to acquire all of our property back and stop being the police of the world. I say bring isolation back. Protect the borders, have stringent and difficult legal immigration. If another country doesn't want the person do not let him or her stay...
A steady diet and a good detox program is what this government needs. I ain't paying almost 45K in order to pay down my "debt" when I didn't make it. Got to be kidding me. 45K is more than the average household makes a year. Disgusting.
Amen to that, Kimmy.
I'm more optimistic Kimmie. Not to say that things won't get to that awful level but I think if it were to happen then Americans would rise up and persevere the way our grandparent's generation did through the Roosevelt Depression and become victorious the way they did in WW2.
We are sometimes slow to recognize a challenge but when we arrive . . . we arrive big.
GB also made a good point this country is decreasing in the formation of thinkers AND laborers. We need both. We need innovators and we need fighters. All hinges on the quality of people that will be here if/(more than likely) when the crap hits the fan. When the crap hits the fan who will be here and what will we do about the situation? All I can hope for is that the MAJORITY of us will be England circa WWII and not France same time frame. Do we fight to the end and reconstruct from scratch or do we give in and let the enemies walk under our arches?
I want to also be positive, I have hope.
It's going to get a lot worse before it gets any better, I'm afraid...
In the current political climate, where almost 1/2 of the country doesn't pay federal income taxes at all, I don't see how this insane amount of debt can ever be paid off.
Even if they go after 100% of salaries and private property from everyone, will it be enough to pay all those trillions off? (Not to mention that such a move would probably start the next Revolutionary War). The private sector (producers) in the US is not big enough to support the massive government bureaucracy through taxes.
Every time "budget cuts" are mentioned, there will be those who depend on government (for entitlements or employment) that will scream to high heaven. The next fight over this will be whether or not to raise the debt ceiling. The liberal media is already screaming that if the debt ceiling is not raised, that will lead to a catastrophe and will wreck the US economy. I think some pain now is better than a lot of pain later.
Look at France, Greece, etc. They're implementing austerity measures, cutting back on government programs and such, and big sectors of the population are rioting and destroying cities over it...and that's just over raising the retirement age a couple of years, or cutting some of the salaries and benefits.
When the government checks start bouncing here, and they have to keep laying off large parts of the public sector (states and federal), cut back or eliminate entitlements completely, default on pension plans, it's going to get ugly.
Something is going to have to be done eventually though. Won't be pretty, but it will be necessary. I don't know if the political class has the balls for such a thing though; they seem to be more interested in buying votes and keeping people asleep watching American Idol and football...we'll see if this new congress is serious about it, but I'm not holding my breath.
The other alternative is for the geniuses in DC to keep pretending that nothing is wrong, keep borrowing and keep printing money and keep the gravy train going. The US dollar will be destroyed, and that will be even uglier. It will likely make the 1929 depression look like a holiday.
The laws of economics cannot be ignored forever.