Is the Debt Ceiling Unconstitutional?

Forget the constitution. If you want to control your debt, don't pass laws that create debt.

The "debt ceiling" is silly and contrived and it is the kind of thing a child with no impulse control would come up with as a ruse to keep gorging himself on candy, while protesting that he's controlling himself.

 

It's sad that this always turns into an attempt at a Republicans versus Democrats argument.

They are both responsible for our debt. They both pass loads of legislation that hands out monetary favors to the special interests that put them in power and keeps them in power by feeding their campaign war chests.

They both have been doing that for a long time. It's the American political system.

And the "debt ceiling" is still stupid and contrived as long as they can have one and at the same time keep passing legislation that runs up debt, which they do even as this "debate" rages.

I watched part of Obama's news conference today. It is hard to believe that it was the same guy who came into office, spearheaded several bills that amounted to more than a trillion dollars worth of special interest spending before anyone could catch their breath, and then put out a 10-year budget projection his first year that had the national debt more than doubling by 2015 and equaling our GDP by 2020 (and that was using his optimistic growth projections).

 

Of course, because it is disaster relief legislation that has put our country $14.5 trillion into debt.

 

Mike, I am not sure what the infinite number of times are. These are the facts as I know them:

During the 1970s our public debt as a percentage of GDP was somewhere in the range of 25 to 30 percent. During the 1980s, it rose to about 40 percent of GDP. During the 1990s, it ranged from 40 to 50 percent of GDP. During the Bush presidency, it rose from 35 percent of GDP to 40 percent of GDP. By the end of 2010 it was 62 percent of GDP and given that our outstanding debt right now is about $14.3 trillion and our gross domestic product was $14.66 trillion last year, our debt is now a staggering 95 percent + of our GDP.

When you are talking about a spiraling debt problem, you can argue that it is too much spending, raising too little revenue or a combination of the two. It doesn't really matter.

The "primary structural cause" of our problems is not attributable to one thing. Our national debt under Bush increased from $5.7 trillion in 2001 to $10.7 trillion at the end of his presidency. Under president Obama it has gone from $10.7 trillion to $14.3 trillion in just two years.

At the rate we are spending (you need to spend a great deal to increase your public debt that much), no amount of taxation could make up the difference.