It is not unusual for the federal government to reach its legal spending limit. It has done so four times in the past six years…three of those times in the previous administration. Those three times the limit was raised with few qualms and little quarrel. But every once in a while a tin pot potentate is in charge of the House and decides to stick it to the opposition party who happen to hold the White House. And who cares about the actual Americans who will suffer financial distress and possible ruin of they let the country slip over the precipice.
So here we are once again. And newly minted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy wants to show us all how tough he is. And he won’t take a clean vote on increasing the debt limit under President Joe Biden simply…because. Now as I said earlier, debt increases were virtually a rubber stamp activity during the Trump administration. And it should be as well now. The nation’s debt didn’t suddenly appear over the past two years…it’s the accumulation of decisions made throughout the century by politicians and elected officials of all stripes. So Mr. McCarthy, it’s time for you to just agree to pay the bill. We’ve already spent the money…let’s pay what we owe.
Now as part of his discussion about having to discuss spending as part of the debt increase, Mr. McCarthy has intimated that he hasn’t had an opportunity to discuss the national debt and needs to hold the nation hostage to accomplish that. Well that’s a damn lie. The nation’s spending is discussed and decided every year at budget time. And, admittedly it is done damn poorly and inefficiently every single year. And given he’s been in the House since 2007, he has had plenty of time to effect changes in the federal budget. Mr. McCarthy, pay your bills.
Now, the analogy that the GOP and Mr. McCarthy like to use when talking about the debt limit, is the family budget. Often talking about a family who goes over budget with wild credit card use. The family needs to curb spending and remodel their budget. Yes, that’s correct. But first they have to pay their damn bill. Unlike what Mr. McCarthy is proposing, that family can’t tell Visa that they exceeded their budget and aren’t making their payment this month…or next…or until they’ve decided what their actual budget should look like.
Should the Democrats and Republicans have some serious meetings about federal spending. By all means. And they should be starting the annual budget process pretty soon. And sooner the better so maybe it gets done on time this year. But in the meantime, Mr. McCarthy, you gotta pay your damn bills.
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