Raising The Roof

While Congress has delayed crafting a budget for fiscal 2011, which ends September 30, they are already squabbling about what to do about the 2012 budget.  In the meantime though, we are about to bump our heads on the debt ceiling, which is currently $14.294 trillion.  That’s because the Federal government is borrowing $189 million dollars AN HOUR! (article)

A few years ago, the debt ceiling was a mere $12 trillion, yet George W. Bush wanted to raise it.  Senator Barack Obama voted against it then, but he is pushing it now.  I wonder, did Obama vote “no” because it was ONLY going up to $14 trillion?

Anyway, Obama and most Democrats and thoughtful, chin-stroking Keynesian economists and MSM pundits now say we “must” raise the debt ceiling to maintain our credibility.  Really?

One analysis says it would take the entire economic production of private business in the United States in 2010 to retire our national debt.  How is increasing our debt  going to help our credibility when we are hurtling toward ruin as it is?  Standard and Poor’s is threatening to reduce the nation’s credit rating because of our runaway debt.  Rather than saying we “must” raise the debt ceiling, it would seem we ought to be saying the opposite.

The only solution the Democrats can see is to raise taxes, but we are already taxed too much.  They also talk about “fairness” but there is nothing “fair” about our tax code currently.

One illustration I saw recently compared a hypothetical single mother making $14,000 per year with a couple with combined gross income of $60,000 (both families have the same number of children).  The single mother can get food stamps, Aid to Dependent Children, childcare assistance, housing subsidies, Medicaid, etc. that increase her spending power to $37,000.  The working couple makes too much to get any government assistance, PLUS their tax burden and household expenses reduces their spendable cash to $34,000!

While I understand that the single mother would have trouble making it on $14,000 a year, is it really “fair” that she has more spendable cash than a family where both spouses are working full time? Shouldn’t the government be going after the deadbeat dad to help the single mom?

It goes without saying that $60,000 per year earned by two people is not “rich” and certainly not the “millionaire/billionaire” status that Obama regularly demonizes.  Yet the Democrats never miss an opportunity to raise taxes on people earning more than other people.

I say the Federal government needs to “Stop the Insanity” and get the spending under control like every household and private business and nonprofit in the country is having to do right now.  Where is it written that government can never tighten its belt?