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Normally the government hits the National Debt limit like a dozen times a year. And they just quietly pass a law raising the Debt Limit, and keep right on borrowing more and more.
You may recall that in 2010, TEA Party members in the House of Representatives, ran on the promise to end crazy borrowing and spending. And a lot of them were elected on that basis. So in 2011, when one of these Debt-Ceiling votes came up, they dug in their heels and refused to approve it. The screaming was deafening, government started shifting money from various retirement accounts to pay for the (ongoing) spending, the National Debt flatlined for a month or two, and eventually the TEA partiers caved and borrowing resumed.
The result was a Supercommitee to cut spending (they never cut any), and across-the-board cuts ("sequestration") as a result of the Supercommittee's failure. A new Debt Limit was set at just over $16.4 trillion.
Well, we hit that Debt Limit again on Jan. 1, 2013. More screaming resulted, and Congress decided to do away with the limit for five months. Sequestration cut in on April 1, and the Debt Limit was automatically reinstated at just over $16.7 trillion on May 18. Ever since that time, the govt has been raiding the Federal retirement accounts etc. once again to pay for the (neverending) spending, and there has been no new borrowing since the end of March.
But the strangest thing is: This time there have been NO reports of congressional battles to approve a Debt-ceiling increase. Nothing at all on TEA Party stubbornness, nothing on the wisdom (or folly) of not raising the limit.
Not a word. Dead silence.
The National Debt has been rising since before most of us were born. "Borrow and Spend" has been the watchword, the theme to live by, of leftist government since its inception.
Every time a limit on borrowing has even been mentioned, the person mentioning it has been ridiculed. When a limit was proposed, the proposer was crucified. And when it actually WAS halted for a few brief months in 2011, the media acted like the world had ended (which, for the Left, it almost had).
Now for the last several months in 2013, borrowing has been abruptly halted again. And we haven't heard a peep about it. Not from leftist congressmen, not from the press, not even from the leftist Prsident and his usual cohorts. NOT ONE WORD.
I'm sure huge battles are going on, somewhere, to get rid of the Debt Limit (as usual) and resume borrowing. But why have we heard ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about them?
Does anybody know where such Congressional debates and bills would normally be reported? Can anybody find any actual records of such debates etc. being held?
Last edited by Little-Acorn; 07-17-2013 at 12:37 PM..
I'm sure huge battles are going on, somewhere, to get rid of the Debt Limit (as usual) and resume borrowing. But why have we heard ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about them?
Does anybody know where such Congressional debates and bills would normally be reported? Can anybody find any actual records of such debates etc. being held?
By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, May 9, 2013 19:31 EDT
The US House passed a Republican bill along party lines Thursday that lawmakers say would remove the threat of default, while requiring the government to prioritize its debt and pension payments.
The legislation would allow the US Treasury to borrow beyond its legal limit in order to pay down government debt and make Social Security payments, in the event that Congress fails to negotiate a rise of the debt ceiling in the coming weeks.
Its a lose lose for the republicans when they will breach the debt ceiling on purpose or impose savage genocidal austery measures on the American people.
The last time this happened, in 2011, the govt started paying normal operating expenses (and entitlements and all the rest) out of various Federal employee retirement funds they had access too. A huge ruckus was raised, and a lot of people thought that was strictly illegal, and pointed out that if a private company did that, the bosses would all be thrown in jail for a very long time.
But the Democrats got away with it. And now they appear to be doing the same thing again this time, but nobody is talking about it at all, as though it were just a normal way of doig business.
Apparently we will have to wait until all those retirement funds etc. are exhausted too, which they say will happen around September 2013.
Let me guess: They will start blaming Republicans at that point. Right?
The last time this happened, in 2011, the govt started paying normal operating expenses (and entitlements and all the rest) out of various Federal employee retirement funds they had access too. A huge ruckus was raised, and a lot of people thought that was strictly illegal, and pointed out that if a private company did that, the bosses would all be thrown in jail for a very long time.
But the Democrats got away with it. And now they appear to be doing the same thing again this time, but nobody is talking about it at all, as though it were just a normal way of doig business.
Apparently we will have to wait until all those retirement funds etc. are exhausted too, which they say will happen around September 2013.
Let me guess: They will start blaming Republicans at that point. Right?
I do remember that. They will go down the same path like you say most likely then when they get caught will go out screaming how old folks will get kicked out into the streets to starve and children will all die if we don't raise the debt limit. Same game plan.
We have not hit the debt limit. Because of reduced spending, increased tax revenue from the improving economy, and the profits from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it is estimated the debt ceiling will not be hit again until November or December.
Its a lose lose for the republicans when they will breach the debt ceiling on purpose or impose savage genocidal austery measures on the American people.
Dead everywhere........dragging people out of the gutters. Sewage for drinking water........
The reason you haven't heard much is because the hyperbole like posted by ford fan no longer works. There was no collapse of society when the sequester kicked in. Planes did not fall from the skies. People did not die.
We have not hit the debt limit. Because of reduced spending, increased tax revenue from the improving economy, and the profits from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it is estimated the debt ceiling will not be hit again until November or December.
Dead everywhere........dragging people out of the gutters. Sewage for drinking water........
The reason you haven't heard much is because the hyperbole like posted by ford fan no longer works. There was no collapse of society when the sequester kicked in. Planes did not fall from the skies. People did not die.
With the sequester there is a reverse multiplier where the pointless human suffering gets worse as time goes on. Austerity absolutely does kill people when the economy is deeply depressed like it is now.
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