I think it is the mystery of a debt ceiling that has me so puzzled. I know, for instance, what a debt ceiling would mean for me and that once it is reached, I’m back to Ramen Noodles and tap water. Of course, with honest management, ahead of time, I boil up them Noodles once or twice a week and I maybe avoid hitting that Ceiling and being forced to sip at that swill coming out the faucet. Theoretics, of course, of course…
So, in such a scenario, a Debt Ceiling is an honest and real concept. There is a Limit, and to break through that Limit means Consequences. But we’re discussing the Federal Government, where Consequences are as real as the Tooth Fairy, long as you’re keeping your junk off Twitter…
The Debt Ceiling has been “raised” nearly seventy-five times in the last fifty years, and has been raised ten times in the last ten. This means that seventy-five times in the last fifty years, the Government saw that they did not have enough money to do their Business and, instead of adjusting their spending or coming up with honest ways to make money, they just decide to raise the level of spending allowance they have. Why make changes when all you have to do is say you’re allowed to spend more money?
This Debt Ceiling, this borrowing, counts for upward of fifty percent of Government Spending. Okay. This concept makes sense Or, at least, more sense. Everyone has credit cards to increase their spending allowance (well, not everyone, I know, and I know I am not the only one staying away from those slices of devilry…), so that more things can be purchased at times when the wallet is a little thinner. And part of that agreement is that you pay back onto that credit card so that the debt is managed, if not always manageable. Most credit cards, they have a limit of spending allowance granted: i.e. a debt ceiling. You know what it takes for the Debt Ceiling for you and me to be raised? Consistent and honest repayment. Steady positive interaction. Commitment to the deal we signed on for.
Hmm…
Switching channels, why is Barry showing his face on this? Why is he announcing that a deal has been agreed upon between the Dems and the Repubs? This ball is not on his court just yet. He just needs to put his face out there because, hey, guess what’s around the corner…? Which is the same reason why he nixed an earlier proposal that was pointed at raising that ceiling so that negotiations could be continued on how to lower all this spending and spending. Because the timeline for anything suggested clashes with his Re-Election Tour coming up. It’s the same for all these Politicians, of course; once that Big Red Box starts looming on the Calendar, there is actual caution practiced, because no one wants mud on their shoes right before the Dance…
No one wants to buckle down either.
The Debt Ceiling is 14.29 TRILLION DOLLARS. You heard that, right? And it needs to be raised. An added stipulation to the current agreement is a trillion in cuts. Now, even talking about these numbers becomes only concept talk, something beyond imagination for the you’s and me’s. How is it we get to a point where we are spending that much money that no one has and have to ask for more? Is that not indicative of a serious problem?
But, really, this isn’t all about the money. Maybe even more so, it is about power and stepping on the other guy and not backing down. It is about Party Politics, rather than America, and that should come as no surprise. Here is one idea that will never real a reality: a wage freeze for any elected politician in Congress, Senate, or the White House till there is no deficit. Because, really, what are paying them for? If I go into work tomorrow and I can’t get the job done, guess where I will be? If I spend all my money, guess what I will get? Maybe it is necessary time that the People we put in place to steer the boat are held to actual Standards, are held Responsible for the actions that truly blight our Country. Maybe more worry needs to be paid to getting the Job done, and nevermind the sexting or junk-shots or infidelities. Maybe it’s time to hold our Leaders to their Word?
Tag Archive: debt ceiling
Further Musings…
Of course, through the day, there was no talk of this Congressional Power Strain going on, of course not, not here, safe in the Corn Belt with a huge pan of fried chicken, spiraled honey ham — how could anyone even dare think such thoughts?
But I checked in when I got back to the hotel and was completely unsurprised that there had been no resolve. I mean, one, there’s Saturday Morning Cartoons, so nothing gets done till nearly noon, then lunch, and the afternoon was so hot… And a new question occurs:
A debt ceiling implies that there is a debt; a debt implies that we owe someone some money. Who, exactly? Please clarify. Please.
Along this line of thinking was the thought that we give away way too much money. Who are we giving this money to? What are these recipients doing for us? Are they, in taking this money, doing anything that leads to a less dependance on charities and hand-outs?
There is a thought out there that charitable financial givings should be lessened, at least by ten percent. Ten percent? Barely a dink in the bucket. Closer to fifty percent, I think, and at the least a twenty-five percent decrease. This may seriously disrupt the economies of these countries, but it may also be a catalyst needed to get these countries moving on their own? Wow, why would we want that?
Would they argue? “No, hey, that just isn’t enough free money, we need more…” Would the bleeding hearts feel we are being less American if we gave other people less in order to take care of Americans? Are we obligated to save the world, at the expense of ourselves?
This Scrooge thinking led in different paths, as anything in my head tends to. One thought was on the paychecks of these Senators and Congressmen. I would have to do some digging – something I am not set ready to do at the moment – but didn’t they just give themselves a raise within the recent decade? And, yes, this pay raise is not responsible for any deficit, but what was the percentage of that raise? Why would the same percentage not given to the rest of Americans, along with that free medical coverage? Just a thought…
I really think, in this day and age, there should be a better way for the American Public to give input on anything that goes on in those Sacred Halls. You know that no one actually gives honest answers to pollsters, and any news media is only going to focus on the one side of the political spectrum that is paying their bills. There is no clarity.
There was something else I was thinking, but I’m tired now and The Goonies is on, and we have a few hours of peace. Sometimes that’s harder to come by than national financial security…
I usually don’t listen to NPR. Too stuffy in their liberal views – the preppy college kid who acts as though they are really giving back because they notice the poor slums and the starving children on the other side of the world, hell, they’ll even go talk to them. As with any all politically-slanted media, it only portrays one aspect of the going-ons in the world and only tries to appeal to one corner of listeners. I do, however, really dig that chick with the English accent. I don’t know what she is talking about, I just get all mushy at the sound of her Britified, whispery voice – thanks, Mel…
But in the country roads of Indiana, when nothing else but country music even remotely cackles on the car radio, there wasn’t too much choice to listen and pay attention. On the way to the surprise birthday celebration of an elderized lady, with the Missus having nodded off, I had nothing else to focus on. And the topic of the week is the troubles Congress is having with rasing the debt ceiling. There is no explanation on what it all is about, and I have been avoiding news, on both the national and local fronts, for the past few months as I re-assimilate. But it is a national debt ceiling, pretty easy to figure out. The talk is about who in the country, which citizens will be short-changed because there isn’t enough money to go around. Some little old lady in Iowa. A firefighter in Texas. Border patrol guards in Arizona. The regular people. No mention of politicians at all, without consideration that one of their paychecks will cover for three of the people’s needs. That would be ludicrous, of course.
Congress is at a stalemate, a filibuster, as the Republicans will not pass the proposals the Democrats put on the table in reference to a higher debt ceiling. There is not clear declaration on who the debt is to – taxpayers, other nationalities, corporations? – which I think should be an important consideration. Is it that big a deal if we owe it back to our own pockets? What are other countries going to do it we decide to not pay on their schedule? What do the Republicans want in order to pass the movement? What necessities are in the air that make such a raising needed? Because, usually, I see a lot of politicians asking for money for issues that should have been handled differently: if funds were not mis-used, then more funds would not need to be beggared for. Of course, of course.
And those gray-suited bastards are hard at work over the weekend, trying to hammer out a deal that both parties can agree to, while Barry is on the golf course saying how the Republicans are against him, are against us all.
I bring this up because, listening to all this talk about how our economy hangs in the balance, how our way of life depends on this higher debt ceiling (which, if you consider it, is the NEW American Way of Life: Live on Credit and Put the Receipts in a Shoebox), I didn’t hear any talk about how much money we are handing out to the Middle East so that they can rebuild. I didn’t hear a word on how much money we give away, based on someone else’s decisions, to countries that have learned it is easier for them to scratch by on hand-outs than it is to knuckle down and be responsible for themselves. Nothing said about the debts we owe to countries that have reneged on their own promises and debts.
The United States has focused too much, for too long, on being a global presence, and it is time to reign that back in and take care of our own yard. As a parental unit, the United States would have lost custody long ago, and may have gotten lucky with supervised visitation rights, but as a national force, it is left to self-implode, along with its citizenry.
Here’s a thought: every move a Congressman or Senator makes is recorded and reported to those citizens he or she answers to. If it is a decision those voters dislike, that can be made immediately. Screw this writing the Congressman a letter that gets read and laughed at by some underpaid aide; there should be a forum made available that shows every move there in Washington and what the general public thinks of it. Maybe if the opinions and wishes of the public were honestly known, the politicians would move in a direction that truly focuses on this country, or give reasons why such decisions are unwise.
After today’s shin-dig, I want to read more on this debt ceiling and I will follow this up as soon as I can. With more blind opinions, name-calling, and ingratuity, of course.
