1-23-23
The debt ceiling debacle returns just like the pony on a carousel. We keep seeing the same play over and over with the same actors. Our esteemed “leaders” piled on the debt throwing trillions around to perpetuate their hold on power and now scream it would unconscionable to not pay up. The same yammers who don’t see the irony of forgiving the debt of college students.
As is the case with so many other issues, stopping the bleeding is left to another day. Close the border? Not until we have amnesty for all those already here. Hold the line on spending? Only after we allow ourselves to rack up more debt. Rein in relaxed requirements for welfare programs before they collapse the entire economy? Right after we declare the “emergency” over because Congress and the executive branch are so good about ending subsidies, expanded benefits and eligibility.
Betting on the come line with our government is folly. Even the most ardent fiscal hawks are powerless to stem the tide/tsunami of spending to which we have grown addicted. Every attempt to put limits on federal spending has failed. Gramm/Rudman/Hollings to Pay-as-you-Go have all done nothing to stop deficit spending. With new “tools” to justify even greater debt spending, look for an annual emergency to keep the printing presses running.
At the heart of this is the symbiotic relationship between we the people, who like petulant baby birds squawking for more food, keep asking for more, and our accommodating representatives who simply hand it out willy nilly. Never a discussion of the trade offs between that benefit and its costs. Nary a sound as to the long term impact on our national security as defense spending continues to get crowded out by astronomical interest payments and automatic increases in already suspect entitlement programs. The Hiden Biden strategy is nothing new. Long term Congressmen and women know they will never be held accountable for the damage they’ve done by approving all this spending. Hell, their names will be on the buildings that house the bureaucracy they built!
So we won’t see a penny less spending over the next several months has teeth are gnashed and vitriol speeches in front of empty chambers are made. Pundits will decry the chaos and brinkmanship of the heartless who are willing to risk the “full faith and credit” of the USA all while we spend ourselves down the river. The wheel keeps spinning and when it stops, no one knows.
Current Day Publius 