RightChange: Obama’s Out of Money Again. Oh Well, Just Raise the Debt Ceiling

It’s official. The Treasury has once again come within $100 billion of their borrowing limit, and Obama has once again requested to raise the debt ceiling. Here’s the official notification letter he sent to Speaker Boehner yesterday:

“Dear Mr. Speaker:  (Dear Mr. President:)

Pursuant to section 3101A(a)(2)(A) of title 31, United States Code, I hereby certify that the debt subject to limit is within $100,000,000,000 of the limit in 31 U.S.C. 3101(b) and that further borrowing is required to meet existing commitments.

Sincerely,

BARACK OBAMA”

Yes, we know, it’s very confusing. But with this latest request come one thing that remains undeniably clear. Mr. Obama has once again failed to enact any sort of plan to control our nation’s ever-increasing debt.

This marks the sixth time he’s raised the debt ceiling in three years. What used to be a last resort, an act of absolute desperation, has now become common practice for Obama. One would imagine that after a couple failures to control spending and a couple forced debt ceiling increase, a president would probably learn his lesson and plan a little better.

This has been the exact opposite of Obama’s logic. For him, it’s a buy now and pay later approach. He budgets for nothing, spends for everything, and when he runs out of money for “existing commitments,” he simply raises the debt ceiling. For Obama, the U.S. Treasury has been functioning like a no-limit credit card. However, there are a couple exceptions.

First of all, there is a limit! When you hit that limit in the real world and fail to pay what you owe, you can’t simply say that your limit needs to be higher. When Obama hits the limit and runs out of money, he simply gives himself more credit so he can keep on borrowing and spending. Also, paying your credit card bill at the end of the month is not an option. If you fail to pay for what you bought on credit, they seize your property. When it comes time for Obama to pay for what he’s spent, he’s not the one who has to foot the bill – we are!

The most important thing about this process is that Congress really has no power. Yes, it is certainly within their ability to deny his request, but that means they are denying the country of money needed to keep the government operating. This is the ultimate bargaining chip for Obama. If his requests are granted, he gets the money he wants for those “existing commitments (whatever those are). If his requests are denied, the country government shuts down and Congress looks like a bunch of inconsiderate idiots. Either way, Congress looks bad and Obama gets what he wants.

Way to go, Obama. You’ve successfully turned the biggest problem of this generation into a political advantage. If only he used that kind revolutionary thinking to come up with a plan to control the deficit in the first place.

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