Should the debt ceiling be raised?

No. Debt is slavery, and we're all enslaved enough already.

 

I'd like to see them force a shutdown. Make Obama actually put together a budget and really work for a change.

 

Not if bringing the troops home from 150 foreign bases would solve the problem.

 

What are the consequences of not raising it? Surely you have an opinion on this.

 

I am in favor of a gradual lowering the rate of raising the debt ceiling until a balanced budget can be achieved. After this, a surplus should be put towards the debt. Many will disagree with me because this should have been done years ago. Congress and the President (both parties) have failed to do this. However, even at this late date, I believe not raising the debt ceiling would wreck the economy.

I agree with Reverend Mitchell on the ultimate goal. In the past, we failed to make any move to lower the debt, spending, or reform taxes. The Simpson-Bowles Commission made reasonable proposals. It was established by Congress, yet Congress failed to implement their recommendations. What must stop is the pattern of raising the debt ceiling every few months to delay the problem.

Our government is so disfunctional that both sides have lost the ability to govern, regardless of philosophy. The White House fails to lead, and Congressional leaders fail to lead. A budget has not been passed in three years. Republicans control the House and Democrats control the Senate. Congress takes as many days off as they are in session. When they are in session, little is done other than political games, and enough to keep the government running barely.

Congerssional approval rating hovers around 15%, yet, on election day, we sent back well over 95% of incumbents to the House with almost the same split. The Senate had minimal turnover also. That is our fault. It seems we hate Congress as a whole, but love our particular Congressman bringing home tax dollars to our district. We cannot have it both ways.

 

But in the meantime the consequence would be to have across the board expense decreases because congress could never agree to an emergency individualized budget in time. This would include the costs of your beloved foreign wars. Of course, the Industrial-Military complex would get THEIR money.

 

OK. I support the 10% across the board cut including the secret "black budget."