PostHeaderIcon Raising The Debt Ceiling And Other Insanity

This whole debt ceiling debacle is stuck on stupid. That is, progress seems stuck and they think we are stupid.

OK – so we are.

But they should still not treat us so shabbily. Like lying to us every time any of them says anything. It would be so very refreshing for just one senator or congressperson to come on to just one taking-head program and tell the honest truth. Really, is that too much to ask?

Yes, evidently it is too much to ask.

Instead, we are offered the most incredible stories. Last update, I heard that Boehner was offering a $1 trillion debt ceiling increase in return for $1.5 trillion in spending reductions over the next 10 years.

It is not bad enough that $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years actually equals $150 billion per year. No, the really bad part is that this is an offer to “trade” a REAL and IMMEDIATE $1 trillion debt ceiling increase for $150 billion in purely IMAGINARY “cuts”.

Did I say $150 Billion in cuts? That is correct. Presumably, they cut $150 billion in year 1 of the 10 year period, and, after 10 years, it adds up to $1.5 trillion. But wait – it gets better. Actual spending will have to go up around $75 billion per year to pay the interest on that additional $1 trillion they will have borrowed. Pure insanity. And, this insanity is coming from the folks who claim to be on our side!

Among other insane proposals I have heard is a full $2.5 trillion in debt ceiling increase in return for an immediate $2.5 trillion cut in spending. Am I the only one to wonder why, if we immediately cut spending by $2.5 trillion that we would need to also borrow and additional $2.5 trillion? What the hell for??

Now I don’t know about you folks but, I did not find the decade of the 1990’s to be an especially bad time. Employment was good, the economy was good, GHW Bush and Bill Clinton had not yet totally killed the Reagan economic boom. All in all, not a bad time to be alive and American.

Yet today we are led to believe that going back to the government spending levels of the 1990’s (adjusted for inflation, of course), would be an unmitigated disaster. If this is true, then why weren’t the 1990’s and unmitigated disaster? What new and vital requirement for more government spending has occurred since then? The wars? No problem – just stop them. Anyway, outrageous as the wars are, they alone do not account for the massive spending increases that we now supposedly cannot exist without.

Then what was it? I know I am getting old but I simply cannot remember picking up the newspaper each morning in the 1990’s and reading about the multitudes of Americans who had died at the hospital doorsteps, who had starved, who were going naked for the lack of money for clothing. Indeed, I don’t even remember reading that very many of us were going without color TVs and automobiles.

So, what is different now? What is it that requires us to spend so much more? Simple. The looters, those who raid the federal treasury with impunity, want an ever larger share. And, evidently our elected officials are simply unable – and unwilling — to say no.

Well then, since we obviously are having no success licking them, lets join them. Since our government is so enamored of entitlement systems, consider quitting your job and then applying for every form of payment the government offers (after stockpiling a good supply of water, food and ammunition of course – and, if you have any savings, you will want to convert them to silver and gold first).

Darned if this does not seem like the beginnings of a plan. Don’t get violent, don’t walk the streets waving silly signs – in a word, don’t do anything. Period. Just sit there with both hands out demanding more, more, more and be in the way as much as possible. I suspect we all possess the talent required to do that. When can we start?

Troy L Robinson

6 Responses to “Raising The Debt Ceiling And Other Insanity”

  • Troy says:

    After listening to a bit of news this morning, I am more convinced than ever that both Boehner and McConnell are unfit to lead and should step down immediately before they make even bigger fools of themselves.

    Troy

    • That’s what you get for listening to the news. 🙂

      I stopped turning my TV on after Beck left, and I really don’t miss it a bit… although I really should check to see if Megyn Kelly has returned from maternity leave. 🙂

      Anyway, now you are talking about joining my world. I never intended to signup for SSI, as it would be a violation of my principles, which I have always endeavored mightily to be consistent with. Then, they raised the cost of my tobacco habit, so I decided to allow them to support it for me. Now, since I have zero debt and very few expenses, I find my bank account actually growing every month, without having to do a damn thing to enhance it!

      I have even heard that my now marginal income qualifies me for food stamps here in California. Do you reckon I should help this State’s race toward bankruptcy, too? â—„Daveâ–º

  • Troy says:

    You should take whatever you can get. If you don’t, someone less deserving will. Besides, none of us will live long enough to get back all they have taken from us.

    Troy

    • You are probably right. I guess I could use more diesel money… I’ll try to work up the intestinal fortitude to walk into a welfare office and deal with the mindset one would expect to find inside. 🙂

      â—„Daveâ–º

  • Won’t they be coming out with a new budget in the next year or so? Doesn’t that make the projected savings beyond this year seem kinda insincere? I’m through listening to projections. How about we go back to having the money before we pay for things. We should fund programs with a percentage of revenue rather than a total dollar amount. Our expenditures need to be tied to our income.

    • Hey, old friend! Nice to see you, Steel. I concur completely, and like the % idea. Better yet, why don’t we regress to the point before 1913, when they couldn’t muck much with the economy, were required to maintain sound money, and had to beg the States for any of it to spend. 🙂 â—„Daveâ–º

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