Debt Ceiling Silver Lining
Nick Carraway
Courtesy of Korean Resource CenterFor the past few weeks, all we've heard has been bad news about the governmental failure surrounding Washington's impasse on the debt ceiling debate, yet there are still some positives to come out of the whole process. Sure, the country might default. Sure, partisan squabbling has dragged debates out longer than prudence demands. And sure, voters on both sides of the political spectrum will probably feel short changed if and when a compromise is reached. However, let's try to forget all the negativity and focus on what has actually gone well in this historic session of Congress.
First, the serious nature of the debt ceiling debate has finally kept our politicians where they belong, off the campaign trail and at work in their offices. As if sensing the dire import of this debate, the 2012 presidential candidates also seem to be steering clear of commenting on the debt negotiations. Aside from a few shots about the president's lack of leadership, Romney and others realize that anything but constructive contributions would be irresponsible since this issue will no doubt come up again.
Even the president, excepting his remaining demand that the issue be resolved at least until after the 2012 elections (perhaps the most transparently political position in the whole debate), has now stepped to the side line. Instead of making the numerous fundraising stops that were on his calendar for July, President Obama has been forced to stay in the White House and maneuver his advisors behind the scenes while leaving the debate to Congress. And unlike the bank bailouts and stimulus bills that have partly contributed to this huge spending mess, Obama can't lean on Pelosi anymore to rush his choice of a deficit reduction/debt ceiling increase bill through the House. This time members of Congress seem to be actually giving each package the close reading it deserves.
Who can say that a legislative process involving the nation's purse taking place primarily on Capitol Hill is a bad thing? Whether you like it or not, Boehner was right to point out that Congress writes the laws, and then the president gets to decide what to sign. While Obama has threatened a veto on Boehner's latest debt reduction plan, at least the bargaining is now back in the hands of Reid and Boehner, as it should be under the Constitution.
After the unprecedented executive branch power grabs under Bush, which Obama has continued (an unauthorized war in Libya, unelected czars, continuing Gitmo), the president has been relegated back to his two weapons in the lawmaking process, the bully pulpit and the veto threat. As of now, neither appears to be working, and that's a good thing. Let the democratic process be in the hands of many elected officials, rather than in those of one politician, his Wall Street appointed advisors like Tim Geithner and career bureaucrats like Jack Lew. Whatever the outcome of the next few days, let's hope control of the debt ceiling is ultimately retained by Congress, and not another power transferred to the executive.
For all of Obama's recent aloofness and numerous press conferences, the president did say something right on Monday night's speech when he encouraged Americans to call their Congresspeople. Jon Stewart of the Daily Show made fun of the president for "giving up", but Obama should be encouraging people to get politically active. Ultimately, members of Congress have to answer to their constituents, not to the president. No matter where you stand on the debt ceiling, everyone should be voicing their opinions in a decision that will surely affect the economy as a whole.
Finally, it's encouraging that the debate has shifted from simply raising the debt ceiling towards cutting spending, the real root of the problem. Last year, we were talking about more entitlements and more spending. Now it's obvious the country can't afford to take on anymore obligations without a serious review of our existing commitments. While a default would be disastrous, taxpayers are now forced to ask what would be the first bills to go if we really had to make a choice.
How much does foreign aid really benefit the average American? Can we afford three, seemingly endless wars? Should we re-evaluate which criminals we choose to prosecute and fill our jails with and which ones we simply ignore? Can we continue with an outdated tax code under which 50% of our citizens don't pay anything and the others at the top benefit from loopholes and tax breaks? Answering these questions may finally bring some balance and common sense back to the way Washington spends its money.
Rep. Ron Paul, said it best in his address to the House floor last week. Default or no default, it won't matter when people cash their social security checks only to find out that the dollars they get in return can't buy anything. The nation's borrowing limit is arbitrary, self-imposed, and therefore a toy of our political debate. The value of the dollar should not be any of these. Even more important than avoiding a technical default is ensuring that the rest of the world keeps faith that America can pay back its debts and our treasuries are still the safest investment in the world.
Reader Comments (1)
I do agree I like the politicians working during the summer and the sweats that are breaking out in Washington's heat. The debt ceiling is arbitrary and will probably be destroyed because of this debate and is being held hostage by the tea partiers who believe they are speaking for their constituency and not acting in the best interest of the economy or the government.
But that being said, I appreciate their efforts. I appreciate their very real association between the debt celing and spending ---- there is a very real connection. We must do all the things you say above and even though the economy goes around on credit from the wealthiest to help support us poor, we should live within our means, and that does not mean cutting social security or medicare.
The tea partiers just won't give up and they are sticking it to Wall Street. They have made America talk about its budget and spending, even though we try to avoid all talk about spending with social entitlements, wars, and pork spending. This budget is without special deals and more has been cut than I ever have thought from both the House and Senate plans. This is a great start and the talks must continue on a balanced budget. But it is hard to make decisions during a recession especially with a shaking economy, low growth rate, and high unemployment. We just can not default -- too many countries and people (our own) rely on our good faith and the faith of the economy to recover and grow. Plus we need our school loans, education supplements, highways, bridges, airport security, armed forces, social security, prescriptions etc right now more than ever.
I appreciate the zeal of tea partiers in holding their line, but compromise must be made for our government to work. They have made congress bend to their will and their supporters know that, but to anger the whole world over an ideal with realistic, negative consequences for all people, is not rational. The president can not do it, but Congress must. You are right. It has been a great summer in learning about our government and I have never known so many names of the respresentatives.
Thanks for the post.