The federal government hit the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling in January. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen enacted “extraordinary measures” to keep America from defaulting, but even that is expected to fail by June if Congress and the president can’t work something out. The Biden administration has made it clear that only a “clean” debt limit increase – free from any conditions – will be accepted. In a letter to the president Tuesday, March 28, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) warned it would be Biden’s fault if a default does happen.
Debt Ceiling Debacle
America’s national debt long ago reached ridiculous levels; the federal borrowing limit, which Congress generally doesn’t take long to hit after any increase, was $10.6 trillion in 2008 and $14.3 trillion in 2010, for example. But in recent years, it has exploded. Biden and the Democrats claim to be willing to discuss spending compromise later, but first they need that $4 trillion credit increase. Of course, so-called “clean” increases in the limit have occurred before, and the subsequent conversation on spending cuts always goes nowhere.
“With each passing day, I am incredibly concerned that you are putting an already fragile economy in jeopardy by insisting upon your extreme position of refusing to negotiate any meaningful changes to out-of-control government spending alongside an increase of the debt limit,” McCarthy wrote in the letter. “Your position – if maintained – could prevent America from meeting its obligations and hold dire ramifications for the entire nation.”
McCarthy implored the president to have an appointment scheduled for the two of them to meet and discuss spending and the debt ceiling. Biden’s response was simple: No negotiations. Increase the limit without stipulations, then maybe we can talk.
Asking for It
“Speaker McCarthy and his extreme MAGA caucus have refused to put out a budget,” declared White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in response to McCarthy’s missive. That has been the left-wing talking point for months now – if you don’t like our budget, suggest one of your own.
During a press conference Tuesday morning, however, six representatives from the Freedom Caucus did offer up some suggestions – many of which McCarthy had also highlighted in his letter. Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Bob Good (R-VA), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), and Ralph Norman (R-SC) explained that our national debt is growing by at least $100 billion every month. To combat that, House Republicans are filing 507 bills to cut more than $1 trillion in government spending, and the budget they’re working on would allegedly save $3 trillion over the next few years. As The Epoch Times reported, “the package of more than 500 bills, which are slated to be introduced by the Republicans, all request cuts in discretionary and nondefense spending.”
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
During the presser, GOP reps explained their budget would prevent America from snowballing farther into debt by redesigning the president’s student loan forgiveness program, clawing back funds earmarked for Green New Deal policies and the massive payout granted to the IRS by the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022, reclaiming unspent COVID-19 money, and – here’s a big one – capping nondefense discretionary spending at 2022 levels.
The question, however, is what’s the point in a sit down if Biden won’t budge? “If they were to sit down, you would have to ask yourself, what are they going to talk about? The weather?” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said. “We have a plan. We want to pass the debt ceiling without hostage taking, without brinksmanship.”
As for the suggestions presented by both McCarthy and the Freedom Caucus representatives who spoke to the press, the White House claims they would lead to “draconian cuts” that would endanger America’s safety.
The Great Collapse of Last – or Next – Year
Recall the Great Collapse of 2022, when the American government failed completely and society imploded, resulting in total anarchy in a now splintered nation? If that dystopian movie plot doesn’t ring a bell, it’s probably because it never happened in the real world. The IRS won’t cease collecting tax revenue without having its funding doubled, and we know that because the agency has been doing precisely that, without fail, since 1862 – yes, even in 2022, when it was funded with exactly as much money as the Republicans are willing to give it now.
American infrastructure didn’t collapse at 2022 funding. Police forces weren’t disbanded en masse, and the planet didn’t dry up and blow away in the cosmic winds for lack of green spending. One might suspect, then, that none of these terrible things are going to happen this or next year, either. Who would it kill for Congress to reclaim unspent COVID-19 pandemic relief funds if they aren’t being spent anyway?
It’s an old but clearly effective trick, spinning a refusal to increase funding as a crippling cut in what funding already exists. Yet no matter how often statists use it, the Great Collapse of (Insert Year) never materializes. It’s as much a lie as the continual promises of good-faith discussions on cutting spending to follow every no-strings-attached debt ceiling increase.
