(NRCC News) – Dozens of Democrats in the House have proposed a new bill that would obliterate the debt ceiling, removing it entirely, and essentially give the federal government carte blanche to borrow money without any limit set forth by Congress. Because it’s all fun and games when you’re spending other people’s money, right? The left has zero qualms about theft of personal property, probably because in their twisted worldview, there’s no such thing as private property. Therefore, the money you earn through the sweat of your brow doesn’t really belong to you. It belongs to everyone.
Welcome to socialism.
“The federal government hit the $31.381 trillion debt ceiling last week, and House Republicans are pushing for commitments to cut back on the record growth in federal spending before agreeing to allow more borrowing. But Democrats accuse Republicans of setting up the possibility of prohibiting a debt ceiling hike, which would make the government unable to fund all of its current obligations,” Fox News published in a recent article. “Democrats say a better idea is to eliminate all limits on federal borrowing and allow the government to borrow whatever it needs.”
“Weaponizing the debt ceiling and using it as a pawn in partisan budget negotiations is dangerous and repeatedly brings our nation to the brink of default, which would be disastrous to the U.S. economy – something we’ve witnessed as recently as 2011 when Republicans created a debt ceiling crisis that resulted in the first ever downgrade to the U.S. credit rating,” Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill, remarked concerning the new legislation.
“The government has an obligation to pay its bills,” he continued. “Threatening to default on our debt is the same as ordering an expensive meal at a restaurant, eating it, and skipping out without paying. We can and should have a real conversation about overall spending, but the full faith and credit of the United States must never be compromised.”
The bill put forth by Foster, the End the Threat of Default Act, is cosponsored by a whopping 42 House Democrats, a list that includes Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, Gerry Connolly of Virginia, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Barbara Lee of California.
“The Biden administration and its Democrat allies in Congress have argued that raising the debt ceiling does not allow ‘new’ spending, and only allows the government to meet its current obligations. But Republicans say congressional approval of new spending programs is what has repeatedly forced the government to keep hitting its borrowing limit, which has then forced Congress to keep raising the debt ceiling,” Fox News reported.
We cannot raise the debt ceiling.
Why is the federal government funding things like PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts?
Let's start trimming these things like these first before anything. pic.twitter.com/Aqy7BCsoN7
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) January 24, 2023
Before the housing crisis of 2008 caused major havoc on the country’s economy, the total national debt was around the $9 trillion mark, which is absolutely insane, but this amount has now tripled to more than $31 trillion, an astronomical spike when you realize it happened in only 15 years. What led to this explosion? The housing bailout for starters, 20 years of military presence in Afghanistan, and most recently, the COVID emergency response measures, along with the usual spending increases for defense and social programs.
“COVID drove federal spending to record-high levels, and the government continues to spend near those levels even though the emergency has abated,” Fox News added. “The federal government spent $4.4 trillion in fiscal year 2019, just before COVID hit. It spent $6.5 trillion in FY 2020, $6.8 trillion in FY 2021, and $6.3 trillion in FY 2022. While President Biden last year said the pandemic is ‘over,’ the government is still on pace to spend more than $6 trillion in the current fiscal year.”
It then continued, saying, “While Biden is seeking a blank check, Republicans this week noted that in 2011, Vice President Joe Biden championed the idea of bipartisan negotiations on the debt ceiling. Biden was quoted in a 2011 Washington Post story saying that ‘everyone wants an agreement’ on the debt ceiling that “bends the curve on long-term debt.”
The Treasury Department stated just last week that now that the debt ceiling has been hit, it will, temporarily, end funding for federal worker retirement plans so they can avoid new borrowing, saying that an increase in the debt ceiling will probably be needed once again, by summer.
Copyright 2023. NRCCNews.org
Nice to see someone writing about the debt. Good article but the headline should be that they’re spending future tax revenue. I wouldn’t have a problem – and we wouldn’t have a deficit – if they were only spending current revenue.
That is no longer possible. A balanced budget is a fairytale in today’s economy. At least until we baby boomers die out. But if the Biden administration or any other one keeps piling on national debt for political pork, soon the interest on that debt will approach $1 trillion. It’s already over $400 billion a year. That’s $400 billion that comes out of the tax revenue before 1 penny is spent. Democrats act like the deficit means nothing. But it has to be paid for. Other countries bought that debt and expect a return on their investment.
The danger is that a lot of that debt is held by our rival (enemy) Communist China.
Sooner or later, the financial chickens will come home to roost.