Debt Games

If you have not been following the little boys games in Washington these days, you should. It is political posturing at its worst. I am talking about the impasse between the republicans and President Obama over the issue of raising the US debt ceiling. The republicans cannot agree on a package to present to the president, and even if they do, the president says he will veto it unless it contains the elements that he wants, as a Democrat, of course. There is no doubt that the ceiling will be raised. The consequences of not doing so are too negative. Not only will the US government default on some of its payments (it writes 88 million cheques a month) but the credit rating of the US will drop from AAA (zero risk) to AA-. Of course, this erodes confidence in the dollar and may increase interest rates, the last thing they need with their increasingly faltering economy. The debt ceiling has been raised 93 times in the history of that country, but never has the situation been so grave.

I have an idea. Let the impasse remain and let the government default. A few seniors and some veterans, and some welfare recipients will not get their cheques, or at least will be promised that although they are late, they will come. What will happen then is that finally the citizens will awaken and take notice, and realize what is really at stake here. There will then be a cry for government cuts in spending, but on non-essentials, and there are many of those plus a multitude of inefficiencies that can be rectified. As long as Big Government can just get out another bigger credit card, things will continue on the path to ruin. The only difference is the rate of acceleration.