For years Congress has been "kicking the can down the road" with the debt ceiling situation. The "can" has hit the wall! If the US continues to raise the debt ceiling, and Congress continues to spend, within a decade we will not be able to make the interest payments on the enormous debt. This problem is in a critical phase. A constitutional balanced budget amendment is what we need but is not a popular topic amongst the big spenders in Congress!
The current upheaval about raising the debt ceiling has only created more uncertainty and is contributing to the continuing slowdown of the economy and the job market. Ideally the best thing for the future would be to NOT raise the debt ceiling. Realistically, if the debt ceiling is conservatively raised and matched with equal or greater spending reductions, that would help the economy tremendously. The US could protect it's economic standing in the world's financial markets.
Contrary to the "scare tactics" used by President Obama, basic entitlements like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid could be protected for those who need them. There are innumerable ways that spending on nonessentials in government can be reduced or eliminated, saving billions of dollars.
What definitely won't work is RAISING TAXES on any segment of our society during difficult economic times. President Obama espouses "class envy" where we are supposed to want to beat the "rich" with a tax stick! Those are the very taxpayers who create the majority of jobs in the US. Raising taxes takes away from their ability to employ people and provide goods and services. These are the taxpayers who are already paying the lions share of the tax revenue! Effective tax CUTS would go a long way toward stimulating the economy. Making the rich poorer is not going to make the poor richer.
President Obama wants a tax increase so that he and his party can continue to spend and control our lives with taxation and regulation. His theoretical proposals are all smoke and mirrors, intended to seem effective but without real merit. His rhetoric has faulty logic. He and his administration have exhibited an astounding lack of understanding of economics. He certainly has figured out how to make the economy worse, however!
Now is the time to stand firm and support economic common sense. Insist on reduced spending to match or exceed any debt limit increase. Insist that taxes are not raised for anyone when our economy is on such a slow track. Don't buy into the "class warfare" mentality. Believe me, if Obama gets his way, the poor and the rich alike will suffer.
