Commentary
The current federal debt ceiling impasse is similar to a yearly ritual in our nation’s capital. The GOP-led House recently passed a bill that would raise the ceiling but would call for nearly $5 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade.
It’s a given that this bill won’t pass muster in the Democratic-led Senate, but at least the Republicans attempted to reduce wasteful spending in the future. Isn’t the concept of a debt ceiling meant to stop spending at a certain point to avoid default and a government shutdown?
The ceiling should be a stopping point, which is over $31 trillion at this juncture. You don’t punch through the ceiling into the attic and then out through the roof into the atmosphere. Although the nation’s GDP increases over time, politicians ought to resist the temptation to borrow and spend as if money grows on trees. The Treasury can keep printing money, but what are the consequences of this spending spree?…