Republicans Lying Their Way Through The Debt Ceiling

According to a new presentation from the Bipartisan Policy Center, if Congress fails to increase the debt ceiling the US government will default on its debt somewhere around February 15th. Following that, the government would be forced to make payments based solely on revenue (tax payments).

This is exactly what the Republicans in Congress SAY they want to do. Makes sense, right? Well, if they somehow win (and I hope they do), as my mother likes to say, you better put on your big girl panties and get ready to deal with it. However, I have no faith in any belief that Boehner won’t cave at the last minute. Not to Obama or Reid, but to his OWN FEAR of what would happen if the Republicans actually stood up and said, “GROW A PAIR! NO MORE DEFICITS!” In other words, the Republicans are LYING when they say they want to prevent us from increasing the debt limit. Wanna bet? I’ll take all comers that Boehner caves at the last minute while claiming a win.

Anyway, I digress. In their presentation, the BPC gives us an idea of what the two weeks between February 15 – March 1 would like if the US did fail to raise the debt limit. The bottom line is the government would fall short of paying its bills by $184 billion and would be forced to decide who, what, and when to pay the bills while telling others to get in line.

Now, many of you have read in the past where I’ve done the math for you showing what it would take to balance the budget and pay the interest on the existing debt. If not, you can do the math yourself, but what I’ve said is this:

To balance the budget and pay the interest (only) on existing debt it would require AT MINIMUM a 37% immediate and permanent cut in spending to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and Defense.

Was I correct in my math or am I just a blowhard trying to scare people?

You be the judge.

Here’s page 40 from the BPC presentation. Notice anything about the programs it mentions, the percentage in cuts, or the use of the words “immediate” and “impossible”?

And this is just the effect on the government’s ability to send you a check. Don’t think this wouldn’t cause interest rates to skyrocket, the stock market to tank, and plunge the economy into an immediate recession while food and energy prices went through the roof.  All that and more would be here BEFORE Spring of this year.

Folks, here’s the thing. You CANNOT SPEND MORE THAN YOU MAKE INDEFINITELY. It’s that simple.

Even if you have a printing press. By borrowing, printing and taxing ever increasing amounts of money, you will eventually cause the economy to fail.

The sick joke in all this is that you can get away with for some period of time. This allows politicians to get people hooked on spending that never should have occurred in the first place.

And now that you’re hooked on it, you don’t want to ACCEPT that it can’t go on forever. It can’t. It won’t. And it’s not some 15 – 20 years away. It’s not something your grandchildren will deal with or pay for. It’s here, right now, in your face.  You, yes you, who are alive and will still be alive will have to DEAL WITH THIS in the next 5 – 8 years.

Bu, bu, but…. you say.

Look, I know at the last minute Obama and Boehner will come up with some deal that staves off the immediate pain and raises the debt ceiling. But that doesn’t change or fix ANYTHING when the national debt is 103% of the TOTAL national income, and the unfunded promises are something like ten times that amount. Eventually the politicians are going to run out of “solutions” that are based on nothing more than borrowing more money or devaluing the money we have now. Eventually they will begin to ignore the law in an effort to keep the plates spinning and themselves in power (actually they’re already doing this, but hey, your Social Security checks still cash, right?).

The bottom line is this, folks. Keep voting for Republicans and Democrats. Keep cashing those government checks. Keep on accepting those tax deductions and write-offs. Keep believing you can escape what’s coming by getting old and dying first. Keep on keeping on, doing exactly what you’re doing today… and you will wake up one day soon in the middle of the Second American Civil War. It’s coming, and all you have to do is keep on doing what you’re doing today.

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I would encourage you to read the entire BPC presentation.  You can read, download or print it here.

 

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