Debt Ceiling Bluff?

So, it’s the fourth quarter, the ninth inning, the 18th hole.  Uncle Sam has his back against the wall. No life lines left, the audience has been polled a few hundred times and is fed up and the million dollar question – is congress bluffing about not raising the debt ceiling.  The White House seems to think they are.

“When you have $1 in obligations and you only have 60 cents in your pockets, you've got to borrow 40 cents in order to meet those obligations -- and your authority to borrow that 40 cents has been eliminated, you are then in a box. And you have to make choices about how and where to apply the 60 cents you have in your pocket," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.

“Carney repeatedly said he doesn't think the government will be in that situation because Congress will ultimately "do the right thing."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/13/lawmakers-urge-white-house-to-put-military-creditors-first-in-debt-crisis/#ixzz1S2NGfQ4X

The fact is the little guy – the one that the Democrats claim they exist to protect – is the one that understands this example the best.  Almost everyone I know plays out the situation Jay Carney described so nonchalantly.  Real people don’t have unlimited resources and prioritize spending all the time.  We do have to face reality of paying our mortgage or utilities before paying for things that aren’t as necessary.  Food, clothing, shelter are necessities.  The newest, most best-est latest new fangled gotta have is not a necessity. 

The Obama White House combined with an unchecked Democrat controlled House and Senate racked up several Trillion dollars in deficit spending on pet projects and idealistic social agendas.  This huge spending binge was touted as economic recovery.  The sky was falling so chicken little was given the government credit card!  Uncle Sam was a bit illiterate when he couldn’t understand the word “debt limit” and figured he could push right on past the debt ceiling without anyone making a fuss. 

The rest of us understand our limits.  Our banks don’t give us unlimited credit – we have to prove we have the means to pay the bill.  We can’t say, well let me borrow more and I’ll pay ya later.  That’s like Wimpy’s “buy me a hamburger today and I’ll pay you on Tuesday.”    Well, now the day of reckoning is fast approaching and fear is spreading, fueled by none other than the President himself.

Senior citizens are being threatened first – you might not get your social security checks because those Republicans won’t let us borrow more money to pay you with.  Then the veterans who fought to make sure we have a free country to live in.   Well, we might not have the money to pay your pension if those Republicans don’t act soon.   And last, the disabled.  We really want to take care of you, but those conservatives, well they don’t appreciate you enough to let us borrow more money.  Remember, the Democrats take care of the little guy.

This kind of political jockeying is the worst kind of manipulation ever displayed by any public official I can remember.  The reality is Uncle Sam still gets his paycheck every week.  Payroll taxes aren’t going to suddenly be abated on 8/2.  The IRS isn’t shutting down.  Uncle Sam will still have cash flow, he just can’t do all of what he wants.  So, let’s threaten those whose plight will tug the heartstrings of voters and we’ll blame the conservatives for it.  WAKE UP AMERICA!!!

Jay, if you only have 60 cents with $1 worth of obligations, I guess it’s time you learn from those you claim to look out for.  They have the same issue every day as they face rising costs in food, clothing, shelter, transportation and medical care, thanks largely in part to your administrations failed economic policy.

I don’t think Congress is bluffing – or at least I didn’t elect them to.