Should the U.S. government, which has amassed a staggering debt of $14.5 trillion (about $4 trillion of that since President Obama took office), increase its debt limit? The question ought to be rhetorical; $47,000 per citizen is quite enough, thank you. Polls indicate that many voters don’t fully understand the ongoing debt ceiling debate, but even the least sophisticated laborer knows that spending more than he makes will eventually get him into trouble. Big trouble.
The Democratic Party, which still controls the federal government despite Republican gains last fall, seems to have missed the memo. This is hardly the first time they’ve been at odds with reason, but one would think they’d have learned by now. After failing miserably to stifle the Tea Party movement, which sprang up in opposition to excessive taxation, irresponsible spending, and the unconstitutional expansion of government, frantic Democrats have developed an astonishingly unlikely comeback strategy: Raise the debt limit, raise taxes, and spend more.
During last year’s campaign season, Obama compared the U.S. to an automobile. Put it in “D” to move forward, or “R” to move backwards, he joked. The car is moving forward, all right–towards the edge of a cliff. Instead of changing course, or slowing down to get a good look at the road ahead, Democrats are mashing the accelerator. Those who want to increase the debt limit are comparable to irresponsible consumers who max out their credit cards, and, instead of cutting back, apply for more. The word “unsustainable” is overused in politics, but it is the correct adjective for describing liberal policies.
Sadly, this intentional ineptitude affects all Americans. With a mere 153 million of us working (that’s six in ten, roughly), increasing the federal government’s debt ceiling and spending the country into a depression is beyond careless or reckless. It’s criminal.
If the U.S. passes the point of no return (if it hasn’t already), Democrats’ handling of the nation’s finances will have brought it to its knees as surely as a nuclear attack. Whether a nation is destroyed by a foreign military or its own leaders makes little difference to the millions of innocent people who live there, whose only mistake was to trust the men and women they elected. What the current administration is doing to the U.S. economy is akin to fiscal terrorism.
What is the appropriate response to terrorism?
Elected Republicans are talking a tough game, demanding substantial cuts to federal spending, but they are not sincere. Their talking points are crafted to appeal to the Tea Party movement, which can make or break the GOP’s future. If Republicans were serious about defending American prosperity, they would stop at nothing to neutralize the internal threat, which is overwhelmingly greater than the threat posed by any foreign enemy. Compromise is not, or should not be, an option.
Fourteen Republicans have formally declared their candidacy for president, nine of whom are taken seriously. One of them should raise the question: At what point does a government that deliberately mismanages the people’s money cease to be legitimate?
Chris Slavens is a conservative columnist. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
This year, the primaries are more important than ever. The current batch of non-Conservative GOPers think that they only have the left-of-center moderates to fear. They are wrong. If they don’t hold the line for significant budget reform, we’ll still vote GOP in the general, we’ll just be voting for that Conservative Republican that we replaced them with during the primaries.