The Tea Party doesn’t mince words. In a bold editorial posted at Foxnews.com, the leaders of the Tea Party Patriots, along with Andy Quinlan of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity and a private investor named Steve Baer, make the case for cutting up the government’s credit card.
Reading this column makes me feel wimpy. I’ve been assuming that Congress eventually will raise the debt limit, and my focus has been on getting Obama and the Senate to give up something in exchange – perhaps some sort of reform of the budget process to restrain spending as a trade for more borrowing authority. I’d like to see, for instance, a rejuvenated version of Gramm-Rudman that imposes limits on spending growth.
And I’ve already blogged about Senator Toomey’s legislation, which would prevent the Treasury Secretary from deliberately defaulting on the debt as part of a cynical ploy to force Congress to give Obama a blank check.
But maybe I’ve been aiming too low. Here are some key excerpts from the Tea Party oped.
Nearly all of the 87 freshmen who made Boehner Speaker campaigned against raising the limit on the USA’s public debt, capped for now at a staggering $14.3 trillion. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner calculates that our national credit card will max-out near June. Yet Boehner has already muffed his lines, blurting intent to boost the borrowing limit on Obama’s Mastercard. …We are eyewitnesses to the troubling fact that Geithner has beguiled some leaders with the patently false notion that House resolve against further borrowing equals default to U.S. bondholders. This, in turn, argues to Boehner that it would be reckless not to raise the ceiling ahead of max-out. Yet, as Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) and Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) contend via clarifying legislation, non-borrowed tax revenues are more than ample to cover debt service – just not enough to pay for every nice, silly or evil thing to which Washington has become accustomed. …the epic, blockbuster feature presentation in the nation’s political theater should be all about House GOP shutdown of the president’s credit card – the outlaw means by which official Washington has confessed to robbing unborn generations of Americans: In 2006, an audacious newcomer told his Senate colleagues that “raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure…. Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren.” Playing the centrist, of course, he became president in 2008. …Strategic inaction on the debt ceiling, plus bold messaging…, represents a GOP WMD (weapon of mass discipline) that can incinerate every obstacle to the bipartisan reforms so desperately needed in our dysfunctional U.S. government. Wielding this awesome weapon without cooperation from the Senate or the president, House Republicans can rescue the American Republic from Washington’s outlaws.
[…] I’m going to say (though you can probably figure out my views rather easily by reading this, this and this), but I do want to share a chart from my […]
[…] In an ideal world, Congress would not raise the debt limit. […]
Good post. I learn something new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon everyday.
It will always be useful to read through content from other writers and
practice a little something from their sites.
[…] In an ideal world, Congress would not raise the debt limit. […]
[…] In an ideal world, Congress would not raise the debt limit. […]
[…] In an ideal world, Congress would not raise the debt limit. […]
[…] being said, I never thought it was realistic to block a debt limit increase. Indeed, I fully expected an unsatisfactory […]
[…] instant 40 percent reduction in the size of government. And while that may be music to my ears (and some people are making that argument), I have zero faith that politicians would let that happen. Instead, my goal is to help fiscal […]
[…] instant 40 percent reduction in the size of government. And while that may be music to my ears (and some people are making that argument), I have zero faith that politicians would let that happen. Instead, my goal is to help fiscal […]
[…] instant 40 percent reduction in the size of government. And while that may be music to my ears (and some people are making that argument), I have zero faith that politicians would let that happen. Instead, my goal is to help fiscal […]
[…] instant 40 percent reduction in the size of government. And while that may be music to my ears (and some people are making that argument), I have zero faith that politicians would let that happen. Instead, my goal is to help fiscal […]
[…] instant 40 percent reduction in the size of government. And while that may be music to my ears (and some people are making that argument), I have zero faith that politicians would let that happen. Instead, my goal is to help fiscal […]
[…] instant 40 percent reduction in the size of government. And while that may be music to my ears (and some people are making that argument), I have zero faith that politicians would let that happen. Instead, my goal is to help fiscal […]
[…] responsibility, but in this case the debate will be about $trillions rather than $billions. The debt limit vote will an opportunity for some much-needed reform of the budget process. And it is quite likely that […]
[…] responsibility, but in this case the debate will be about $trillions rather than $billions. The debt limit vote will an opportunity for some much-needed reform of the budget process. And it is quite likely that […]
[…] responsibility, but in this case the debate will be about $ trillions rather than $ billions. The debt limit vote will an opportunity for some much-needed reform of the budget process. And it is quite likely that […]
[…] responsibility, but in this case the debate will be about $trillions rather than $billions. The debt limit vote will an opportunity for some much-needed reform of the budget process. And it is quite likely that […]
[…] responsibility, but in this case the debate will be about $trillions rather than $billions. The debt limit vote will an opportunity for some much-needed reform of the budget process. And it is quite likely that […]
[…] I won’t fully believe it until they’re back in their chairs and casting votes, but at the very least Governor Walker is showing why it is important to stand up to greedy special interests. Let’s hope Republicans in Washington can display the same courage in their fight to trim a tiny amount of spending from this year’s spending – even if it means a government shutdown. […]
[…] I won’t fully believe it until they’re back in their chairs and casting votes, but at the very least Governor Walker is showing why it is important to stand up to greedy special interests. Let’s hope Republicans in Washington can display the same courage in their fight to trim a tiny amount of spending from this year’s spending – even if it means a government shutdown. […]
[…] Should Congress Say No to Increasing the Debt Limit? « International Liberty Posted in college loans consolidation 0 Replies […]
For years, fiscal conservatives have been wanting a balanced budget amendment.
Not raising the debt limit is a defacto balanced budget amendment. If they cannot increase the debt, they must spend no more than they receive. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy!
Is there some unknown impediment to raising the debt ceiling AFTER we take a stab at NOT raising it? If the effort to stop the credit use brings some unforseen reality of disaster to the fore, make a sudden course correction. The liberals do not want us to find out the answer to the question. All the more reason to go for it. And why in the world is Bohner listening to the experts who got us into and can’t get us out of this mess? Is he that enamored of Titles?
Killing bloat means getting rid of thousands of government employees (program administrators, etc). I say just reduce the government head count to only those legendary “essential government workers” that have to come in during DC snowdays. Getting rid of this dead wood would cause the programs to die on the vine.
So all you need is legislation directing the treasury that in the event of an expiration of the debt limit, he will fund debt service first, from existing tax revenues, then other essential gov programs, like sending out social security checks, and furlough all other gov workers.
The legislation should also direct the treasury secretary to submit a gov shutdown plan, describing exactly what gov services will be temporilly shut down, and what will be funded with existing tax revenues. The emergency plan should also be subject to congressional review and approval, so they can prevent the standard shutdown ploy of closing the national parks, the defense dept, and stopping SS checks, while keeping the education dept, energy dept, and PBS funded. Of course this shutdown plan probably could not be completed before the coming debt limit raise, but the repubs could get around that by only raising the debt limit for a projected 6 months, along with spending cuts, and the legislation directing development of the shutdown plan, to allow time for the shutdown plan to be developed and in place. Then when the next debt limit raise comes up, the shutdown threat would have real teeth, since truly essential services and debt service would still be funded.
This is a great idea. The plan the treasury submits, to keep essential gov services open, would even be a good guide of what can be cut. And the debt ceiling vote would no longer cause a credit default, or lose essential services, and thus not passing it would be a real club to use to get real spending cuts.
Here’s an idea: Raise the debt ceiling, but rather than increasing it some brobdignagian amount, do it in increments that force Congress’s hand in cutting spending. $1.6 trillion deficit? Not on our watch, Mr. President, we’re only going to raise the debt ceiling $800 billion. And next year, we’re only going to raise it $400 billion and the year after…well, you get the idea.
Fiscal policy can therefore be driven by limiting how much Obama can run up on the nation’s Visa card. A nice compromise?
[…] DAN MITCHELL: Should Congress Say No To Increasing The Debt Limit? […]