Dixie - In Memoriam
New member
I can respect the TEA Party position in principle, of refusing to raise the debt ceiling. They are absolutely correct, raising the debt limit allows Congress to avoid making tough decisions on spending cuts, which is the real problem. I get it, I do... and liberals have such a weak argument, it seems like a no-brainer, we should refuse to raise the debt ceiling, and force the cuts to be made, to stave off default... right? Not quite.
Should Congress fail to raise the debt ceiling, the government runs out of money on August 2. However, the government has a constant flow of revenue coming in from taxes, so they will still be able to fund about 30%, but that leaves a huge 70% chunk that can't be paid for. Now, who gets to decide what gets paid and what doesn't get paid? You would think it might be Congress, but the President actually has Executive Authority to determine which federal employees are 'essential' and 'non-essential' and through that, can effectively control what parts of government shut down, and what parts remain open.
Now... Do you suppose the President will cut funding to ACORN or the EPA, or will he send home the government workers who mail out the SSI checks? If he holds true to his ideological leanings, he will cut funding to anything that will hurt the right and leave funding for anything that will help the left. What is best for the country, simply doesn't matter to this man, or the Democrats. It's about ideology.. fundamentally transforming America.
This is why it's not a good idea for the right to refuse increasing the debt ceiling. As much as principle says you shouldn't, pragmatism says you have to. If it fails to be raised, the country will not go into default, but everything that will be halted, will be emotive heart-felt things that will play unfavorably toward Republicans, from now until Nov 2012. Day after day, week after week, we'll get to see the MSM roll out another tear-jerking story of some schmuck who's family is starving/homeless because of Republicans.
The left will continue to lie and distort as always, and these daily sob stories would be accompanied by a healthy dose of... all because Republicans wanted tax cuts for the rich! And how does that play for the 49% of our country who pay NO TAX? They don't care how much taxes are raised, they don't pay taxes. It's not a good political position for Republicans to put themselves in, and Obama/Dems know it.
Should Congress fail to raise the debt ceiling, the government runs out of money on August 2. However, the government has a constant flow of revenue coming in from taxes, so they will still be able to fund about 30%, but that leaves a huge 70% chunk that can't be paid for. Now, who gets to decide what gets paid and what doesn't get paid? You would think it might be Congress, but the President actually has Executive Authority to determine which federal employees are 'essential' and 'non-essential' and through that, can effectively control what parts of government shut down, and what parts remain open.
Now... Do you suppose the President will cut funding to ACORN or the EPA, or will he send home the government workers who mail out the SSI checks? If he holds true to his ideological leanings, he will cut funding to anything that will hurt the right and leave funding for anything that will help the left. What is best for the country, simply doesn't matter to this man, or the Democrats. It's about ideology.. fundamentally transforming America.
This is why it's not a good idea for the right to refuse increasing the debt ceiling. As much as principle says you shouldn't, pragmatism says you have to. If it fails to be raised, the country will not go into default, but everything that will be halted, will be emotive heart-felt things that will play unfavorably toward Republicans, from now until Nov 2012. Day after day, week after week, we'll get to see the MSM roll out another tear-jerking story of some schmuck who's family is starving/homeless because of Republicans.
The left will continue to lie and distort as always, and these daily sob stories would be accompanied by a healthy dose of... all because Republicans wanted tax cuts for the rich! And how does that play for the 49% of our country who pay NO TAX? They don't care how much taxes are raised, they don't pay taxes. It's not a good political position for Republicans to put themselves in, and Obama/Dems know it.