"The fact that we
are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership
failure. It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a
sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to
finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. ...Increasing America’s debt
weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck
stops here'. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today
onto the backs of our children and Grandchildren. America has a debt problem
and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."
Who said that? Former Republican Congressman Ron Paul? Congressman, and former Romney running mate, Paul Ryan? Radio personality Rush Limbaugh? Or perhaps former President John F. Kennedy?
If you guessed Barack Obama you would be correct. Our current President made those remarks in 2006 on the floor of the United States Senate just as he was kicking off his first Presidential campaign into gear. And now 7 years later, he wants to raise that same debt limit without any hesitation or desire to compromise with Congress. Just as he bluffed his way into higher taxes when dealing with the so-called Fiscal Cliff in early January. A deal that raised tax rates for the first time in 20 years and even increased government spending rather than dealing with the more important issue of cutting government spending.
Obama has said that being President puts him in a different position for understanding the importance of the United States being able to pay its bills and creditors. As if the nearly 6 TRILLION dollars in new debit already amassed by Obama in the past 4 years has taught him anything about fiscal responsibility!
Some on the left actually believe that the amount of the debt limit is irrelevant as long as we stay current with interest payments. Imagine telling your teenage child you will give him or her a VISA card with an unlimited credit line as long as he or she can pay the minimum monthly payment. Then again, I would not be surprised if some reading this column have actually done so.
Frankly the problem with our national debt ceiling today is not Obama. It is not Congress. And it is not the media. It is the economically illiterate American people. There is an old saying attributed to Alexander Hamilton, one of our country’s founders, that the “masses are assess”. Unless and until Americans who vote for our government representatives understand basic economics, they will continue to elect politicians who simply borrow and spend to maintain power.
Sadly the continuing spiral of borrowing and spending can only lead to a financial disaster in the foreseeable future. But why should the typical illiterate voter care? Because at some point federal funds will go mainly to paying interest on those borrowed funds rather than being available to sustain government aid programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and Obamacare. Because at some point, our creditors will stop lending to us and we may have no federal funds to pay for anything.
To me, it seems that most voters and politicians have no rational understand of how much money $16,000,000,000,000 in debt really represents. It is just a bunch of zeroes to them. But those zeroes currently add up to more than $ 53,000 that each citizen of the United States owes to pay for our federal government’s irresponsible fiscal management to date.
If you ask the typical American voter about the current economic condition of Greece or Spain and ask them how those conditions developed, most voters will have no idea that those governments borrowed to excess to pay for entitlement programs and a fat bureaucracy of government employees. And it is doubtful that those voters will know that Greece and Spain are implementing cost saving programs which have resulted in either riots in the streets or in public employee strikes on a frequent basis.
Will our United States eventually succumb to similar civil disobedience if Congress and Obama do not get our fiscal matters into shape? We have already witnessed similar protests around the country as state governments have attempted to rein in their spending and public worker expenses. I have no doubt that the slim majority of voters who elected Obama for another 4 years will be the first to show their disdain when his government giveaways have to be slashed in the years ahead.
As I wind down my days as the On The Right Columnist for DRW Magazine, I can only look back over the past 8 years with regret that I was not able to convince enough voters to elect fiscally responsible local, state, and federal representatives. So now it is time for me to focus on my own personal and family financial goals and prepare for the rough years of economic turbulence ahead. I urge you to do the same.
