A Debt Ceiling Primer

"America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership.  America deserves better."  Those two sentences frame the plight of a nation witnessing a vitriolic political tug-of-war in Washington over raising the debt ceiling.

The summary of the country's quandary was offered by then Senator Barrack Obama.  He made the comments in March of 2006 before he voted against increasing the nation's debt ceiling.  Obama turned thumbs down on another debt request in 2007, ignoring warnings of a financial apocalypse.

That's why it is ironic that President Obama has resorted to trashing Republicans who stand in the way of his attempt to hike the U.S. debt ceiling, which now teeters at $16.7 trillion.  Those who oppose the president are labeled hostage takers, extortionists and extremists.

No one can remember any politician spewing such bilge about Senator Obama for his defiant stance on the debt ceiling less than seven years ago.

The current debt limit hysteria, fueled by the president and his slavish media, has drowned out all reasoned debate over the question of whether the nation will benefit by raising the limit on the government credit card.

This toxic atmosphere in Washington has contributed to obfuscation, deception and dishonesty that does nothing to promote a negotiated settlement.  Here are some facts to put the battle over the debt limit in perspective:

1.  President Obama has forewarned that default is likely if Congress fails to act on the debt ceiling.  However, the tax receipts for the current year are expected to top $3 trillion, more than enough to cover the annual interest payment of $237 billion.  The president and the Treasury secretary should have no problem figuring out how to avoid default on the debt.  They alone will make the call on whether to default.  As proof, read about what another president did in the next paragraph.

2.  President Obama has chided legislators for contemplating something no other Congress has done.  In 1953, Republican President Dwight Eisenhower's request for a modest lift in the debt ceiling was rebuffed by Senate Democrats, who argued the existing cap would impede runaway federal spending. In order to meet debt obligations, the president ordered drastic cuts in government expenditures. A full year after Eisenhower's request, the Congress finally approved an increase in the debt ceiling.

3. President Obama continually harps about Congress paying the bills for its spending.  This borders on hypocrisy because the president has presided over the largest increase in the nation's debt in the history of the country.  Since Obama assumed the Oval Office, debt has skyrocketed $4.939 trillion, a 51 percent increase since 2009.  Gargantuan federal deficits run up under Obama have created the ticking debt bomb.

4.  President Obama contends raising the debt ceiling will not add to the nation's borrowing.  That is like a credit card holder asking for an increase in his or her borrowing limit while promising not to add more debt.  Then why do it?  Every time the debt ceiling has been raised by Obama, the nation has quickly bumped up against the cap.  Deficits create the need for borrowing and Obama's federal budget sent to Congress last month projects the ballooning debt to stretch into another financial galaxy.

5.  President Obama deserves the lion's share of the blame for the deficits.  Obama has steadfastly rejected any Republican efforts to scale back entitlements which are growing at an alarming rate. Federal spending for major health care programs and Social Security are expected to increase at twice the average of the past 40 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office's recent report on the budget outlook.  Increasing debt to cover the spending will result in "negative consequences for both the economy and the federal budget," the CBO cautioned.

A healthy debate over the debt ceiling is necessary for the country to come to terms with galloping federal spending that threatens the nation's future.  Instead of stonewalling and haranguing, President Obama should lead the discussion.

By refusing to indulge in serious dialogue, Obama has abdicated his leadership role and polluted the environment for an agreement to end the crisis.