Our local newspaper asked whether we should raise the national debt ceiling to allow the government to continue paying it's obligation. I said, "Yes." I was also in the decided minority.
I think Congress should raise the debt ceiling, but unless our Congressional representatives are willing to call for shared sacrifice from every corner of our nation, I see no point in attaching conditions for doing so. After all, what's the point?
The debt ceiling must be increased. Failure to do so would prevent soldiers and government workers from being paid and would signal our national unwillingness to make good on our fiscal obligations. In addition to roiling international money markets, a national default would also cost our nation billions more in terms of interest paid on the money we borrow. That's because defaulters are considered a higher financial risk and are forced to pay a higher interest rate. We as a nation have a moral duty to pay individuals in our employ or who have rendered a public service. Political ideology provides no justification for failure to pay our debts, and politicians who are currently holding soldiers, government workers and taxpayers hostage for political gain are engaging in political terrorism of the most despicable sort.
I am not suggesting we ignore our crippling national debt. Wealthy individuals, corporations, business owners, middle class workers, retirees and the poor all benefited from the spending that comprised our national debt. All should share in the pain of its payment too. Anyone who wants to place a condition on raising the debt ceiling should look in the mirror first. If you're not willing to make your own sacrifice as a condition, don't ask your neighbor to do so.
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