The Sky Is Falling

Do you remember the old story of Chicken Little who is hit on the head by an acorn and convinces her friends that the sky is falling?  It kind of reminds me of some of the statements I hear about reaching the federal debt ceiling. 

Some politicians would like us to think our country will default and we will see economic collapse if we don’t raise the debt ceiling.  It could hurt our credit rating, but it will not hurt our credit rating nearly as bad as if we raise the debt ceiling without significant spending cuts.  We have already had our credit rating lowered twice on August 5, 2011 and September 14, 2012. 

Politicians try to tell people the sky is falling with scare tactics like saying Social Security payments would stop.  This type of tactics is ridiculous and I think it is unconscionable for the mainstream media to repeat them.  The fact is the federal government continually has income.  By law the interest on the debt must be paid, then the military is paid, then Social Security, then Medicare, and them Medicaid.  There is more than enough to cover these payments.  After these obligations are met, government spending to pay off campaign contributors is another matter. 

The Executive branch of our government must pay these obligations by law unless they just ignore the law.  I think some of the results of the government shutdown are clearly political decisions intended to create the most inconvenience for the public.  I hope the public is placing the blame for these decisions with the people actually making the decision. 

Withholding death benefits for our fallen military or any veteran benefits is totally unconscionable.  Isn’t that part of paying for our military which is required by law?  The military is one of the few actual obligations of the federal government according to the Constitution.  The decision not to pay these benefits was made by an administration that has made many Executive Orders with the force of law.  Some of these Executive Orders gave government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency authorities specifically denied by Congress.  I find it interesting that this same administration can refuse to pay veteran death benefits; veteran benefits, or open the World War II memorial for World War II veterans on Freedom Flights.  I hope people lay blame where it belongs.

We go through this same problem on a regular basis and it is becoming more frequent.  It seems like there is no way to get liberal progressives to even talk about cutting government.  This is ridiculous.  Our National debt was under $10 trillion at the beginning of 2008.  It is now approaching $17 trillion.  This should be alarming and unacceptable for all Americans.  In my opinion, most of our political problems are the direct result of a federal government that has grown out of control. 

On March 16, 2006, Senator Barrack Obama made a floor speech in the Senate.  He said:

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure.  It is a sign that the U.S. government can’t pay it’s own bills……I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt limit.”

I don’t agree with President Obama often, but he sure was and is right with this statement.  When are we going to hold our elected officials responsible and fix this problem?

        I heard a rumor that President Obama thought he should be given the authority to raise the debt limit, as he felt necessary.  That can’t be true, or can it?