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Raising the debt ceiling should be a formality. Congress sets spending and revenues. If their spending exceeded revenues the only choice is to borrow the difference, as the money was already spent. Doing otherwise would be like buying a new car then refusing to pay the bill.
Eventually banks no longer lend money to people who buy a new car everyday.
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 U.S. Government can’t 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.
Over the past 5 years, our federal debt has increased by $3.5 trillion to $8.6 trillion.That is “trillion” with a “T.” That is money that we have borrowed from the Social Security trust fund, borrowed from China and Japan, borrowed from American taxpayers. And over the next 5 years, between now and 2011, the President’s budget will increase the debt by almost another $3.5 trillion.
Numbers that large are sometimes hard to understand. Some people may wonder why they matter. Here is why: This year, the Federal Government will spend $220 billion on interest. That is more money to pay interest on our national debt than we’ll spend on Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. That is more money to pay interest on our debt this year than we will spend on education, homeland security, transportation, and veterans benefits combined. It is more money in one year than we are likely to spend to rebuild the devastated gulf coast in a way that honors the best of America.
And the cost of our debt is one of the fastest growing expenses in the Federal budget. This rising debt is a hidden domestic enemy, robbing our cities and States of critical investments in infrastructure like bridges, ports, and levees; robbing our families and our children of critical investments in education and health care reform; robbing our seniors of the retirement and health security they have counted on.
Every dollar we pay in interest is a dollar that is not going to investment in America’s priorities.
Senator Barack Obama
Senate Floor Speech on Public Debt
March 16, 2006
2001: Tax cuts will bring economic prosperity, low unemployment and debt paid off by 2010.
2003: We need more tax cuts to stimulate the economy
2004: We need top financial corporations to lend more. Let us relax their leveraging.
2006: We need to raise debt ceiling.
2008: George W Bush, who?
2009: Blame the democrats and Obama because we shouldn't be held accountable to anything. It is there economy now.
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 U.S. Government can’t 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.
Over the past 5 years, our federal debt has increased by $3.5 trillion to $8.6 trillion.That is “trillion” with a “T.” That is money that we have borrowed from the Social Security trust fund, borrowed from China and Japan, borrowed from American taxpayers. And over the next 5 years, between now and 2011, the President’s budget will increase the debt by almost another $3.5 trillion.
Numbers that large are sometimes hard to understand. Some people may wonder why they matter. Here is why: This year, the Federal Government will spend $220 billion on interest. That is more money to pay interest on our national debt than we’ll spend on Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. That is more money to pay interest on our debt this year than we will spend on education, homeland security, transportation, and veterans benefits combined. It is more money in one year than we are likely to spend to rebuild the devastated gulf coast in a way that honors the best of America.
And the cost of our debt is one of the fastest growing expenses in the Federal budget. This rising debt is a hidden domestic enemy, robbing our cities and States of critical investments in infrastructure like bridges, ports, and levees; robbing our families and our children of critical investments in education and health care reform; robbing our seniors of the retirement and health security they have counted on.
Every dollar we pay in interest is a dollar that is not going to investment in America’s priorities.
Senator Barack Obama
Senate Floor Speech on Public Debt
March 16, 2006
Proving once again Obama is a liar who plays politics with the thought of destroying the country
Eventually banks no longer lend money to people who buy a new car everyday.
And is there even the slightest hint of this with US debt? Rates are at historic lows and the dollar is strong. Investors are paying the government for the opportunity to lend the government money.
The fight will start in earnest and will need a lot of people to exercise their voices in what needs to be done. First of all, make sure Congress allows for the payment of bills they rang up.
It's just the way Obama likes it, waiting until the last minute, going from one freaking crisis after another, and running around like a chicken with his head cut off.
I'd be happy if we just started by forcing Sen. Harry Reid to pass a federal budget, and then force Obama to sign one. that would be a start toward some fiscal sanity.
The President has the responsibility to make sure debts are paid under the the 14th Amendment. Let the RWNJs cry and scream.
He is also supposed to sign a federal budget once a year. But then, it's all about scoring political points against Republicans, with liberals, they could care less if we ran the debt up to $20 trillion in three years as long as they can do their Snoopy dance.
Never in our history has there been this type of continual "crisis" over routine congressional activity. The public knows full well who/which party is behind these conjured-up "issues" and there's a growing fatigue over the GOP sponsored gridlock in DC.
I get the impression that many posters in this forum are too young to recall what happened in the mid 90s when Gingrich shut down the government and what the reaction to that fake "crisis" was back then.
This would be that on steroids. Beware, house Pubs/teabaggers/irrational Obamaphobes. Next year is an election year for congress. The public isn't as dumb as you think we are.
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Now for the Debt Ceiling fight
