3/7/17 – Debt Ceiling
How can I be broke? I still have checks in my checkbook.
Here’s what’s happening behind the headlines.
That sums up the attitude of Washington. Whether it’s a Democratic president and Congress, a Republican president and Congress, or divided government.
No matter who’s in charge, Washington politicians spend money like drunken sailors on liberty. I know from experience. I’m a former sailor.
The national debt ceiling is supposed keep a lid on spending. DC can’t borrow money when the debt hits the ceiling. But each time this happens, Republicans and Democrats have worked together to raise the ceiling. To borrow more. So they can spend more.
The last time this happened was in 2015. GOP Congressional leaders and President Obama worked a budget deal they claimed would turn-around Washington’s spending addiction. It did no such thing. In exactly six months’ time the national debt grew from 18.1 to 19.2 trillion dollars.
Their deal also suspended the debt ceiling until March 15th, 2017. Next week.
For the first time in more than a decade there’s a Republican president and a GOP Congress. How they deal with the debt ceiling will signal if they are truly serious about getting spending under control.
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