Things are always something happening in Washington, and this weekend was no exception. However, yesterday’s announcement that the United States has hit the debt ceiling really took the cake. Seriously, folks, this is extremely significant. Everyone has always speculated as to what was actually going to happen when the United States finally reached its absolute debt limit. Well, that time has finally come upon us, and not much is really happening. Something like this has never happened before, and the government and the media are not making as big of a deal of it as they should. Granted, the sky did not turn to fire and the day did not become like night; however, this event has paled in comparison to things like Donald Trump’s decision not to run for president and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s love child. My guess is as good as anybody’s as to why every major news outlet is not pumping out hourly updates on what the federal government is doing to solve the nation’s latest crisis. It is true that some sources are taking this seriously. For instance, ABC News is calling it the “Debt-Ceiling D-Day”; however, this article shows up on the same newsfeed as “Botox Girl Taken Away From Mother”. Then again that might just be because the last paragraph of the article states, “Among Americans as a whole, 47 percent say they want to do nothing, 19 percent say they support an increase and 34 percent don't know enough to have an opinion”. At least the people who did not understand what is going on were honest.
Anyway, despite America’s lack of caring for the debt crisis, politicians are desperately trying to solve the problem at hand. In the New York Times article “As the Federal Government Hits Its Debt Limit, Lawmakers Spar Over Solution”, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was quoted as to saying the government had started taking “extraordinary measures” to fix the debt. This entails “squeezing” the Medicare and Medicaid programs for savings. Of course, this outraged many people, some of which even came to the capital to protest. Another solution lies with something similar to a giant yard sale. The government is considering selling some of its gold in Fort Knox and government property. These are just stopgap measures until Congress increases the debt ceiling, but, in my opinion, this would only increase the government’s denial to the fact that no matter how much you try to ignore the problem it will not go away. This situation is kind of like having a really nosy, obnoxious neighbor who has no friends and hangs on you like a sad puppy that’s lost in a park. You can put up a fence, let your hedges grow high, and get a rabid attack dog, but that neighbor is not going to disappear and stop being a problem. America is at the point where it has to be proactive. Speaker of the House John A. Boehner believes just this. According to him, it would be irresponsible for the government to simply ignore the problems behind the ever increasing debt by expanding the nation’s credit limit. This is one situation where “raisin’ the roof” just won’t cut it.
Like every other problem, this will not go away soon. As seen in recent events, like the near government shutdown in April, our current Congress likes to bash heads. Hopefully this will not be like the near government shutdown that was spawned from their inability to pass the budget. According to US News and World Report, Democrats are calling for an increase in taxes and raising the debt ceiling while Republicans call for massive spending cuts. Even though raising the ceiling is inevitable; the method by which to prevent this from happening again is (of course) being heavily debated. What must the world think of us? A nation of debtors is being controlled by a government in debt. Really, it’s just plain embarrassing. Once again, to add insult to injury, it is not the most important thing in the news.
In 2012 election news, Donald Trump tromped out of the line of contenders for the presidency while Mike Huckabee gracefully bowed out of his position as a potential Republican candidate. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie still refuses to run, but it is speculated that he could still have a significant impact on the presidential race.
Well, that’s all for now! Keep ticking and stay informed.
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