The history of the debt ceiling
On Monday, the national debt hit its legal limit. So how did we get here? Years of overspending have caused our national debt to explode. The national debt is subject to a legal limit determined by Congress. As Washington spends at a faster and faster rate, the debt ceiling has been raised with increased frequency.
Was royal wedding an economic boom or bust? April 28, 2011American public and the debt ceiling June 13, 2011
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DO NOT Raise the debt ceiling. What doesn’t work in personal life, doesn’t work in Government life (adding more zeros doesn’t make it get “better”).
Cut spending, and be disciplined enough to put the money saved to pay off the debt (just like the rest of us in REAL LIFE)!
You have captured the ineptitude of the Obama administration and the their republican conspirators in one picture. Thewy intend to destroy this country financially for their own personal gain. The great human experiment of a government “of, by and for the People” has failed!
And what happens when we reach $15 TRILLION?? We raise it again?? NO!!!!! This has to STOP!!! If not, we will be borrowing all the available cash in the entire world and paying higher interest rates to get it all too!! And then what do we and the rest of the world do?? I think it will come crashing down long before that can happen. I had to take a $5,000 a year cut in pay when I was called back from being laid off last year. Why?? Because if I refused to go along I would have lost my unemployment benefits too because of refusing work. Talk about no leverage!! That is how it works out there in the real world. I have had to fit my budget to my income, and we still pull money out of saving every month to meet the bills we cannot reduce just because inflation pushes them up. It is a losing scenario every month, and we have not hit retirement yet. That is still 2 years away when our income will be cut in half from its present level. Then what do we do??? It is going to get really ugly then. Can’t sell the house, can’t move to cheaper digs, can’t increase our income, can’t save anything more and saving is decreasing monthly. I despair. And Obama’s latest idea is to take my IRA/401K savings too?? Woe is me (I). Judy
Now just think of how much our debt would be if Ronald Regan had not turned America into a debtor nation. The US use to be the creditor nation but this is what happens when you put idiots in office that will destroy America. So Stop voting for Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats.
Yes, perhaps you’re right. Now that Obama’s in office we’ll be able to get this all straightened out.
ameire,
That’s hilarious! You look at the chart and that’s your comment? “Liberalism” is a co-dependent mental disorder that permits its victims to scrupulously avoid critical thinking. Your lunacy will inevitably be endorsed and enabled by your fellow codependents. For those of us who are still impressed by facts, the chart shows an astronomical leap in this Orwellian “limit” during the Obama administration. Not that GWB escapes reality, but this is obviously unprecedented. I would support a debt limit of 0! Any more than that encourages the bankruptcy of our children and grandchildren, while eliminating any possibly of their having a voice in it, or benefiting from the mortgage of their future earnings. Unconscionable!
It’s so unfortunate for the nation that folks continue to foolishly believe that one party or the other got us where we are today….. Snap out of the mass hypnosis. They both wanted us where we are or they would have changed it up long ago. And the so-called Fed has created most of the mess with their unconstitutional monopoly over money creation. Do some more research and learn what must be done to save this nation. Thks
Maybe if people would quit blaming others and calling names like little school children, something could get done.. Let’s just take on the challenge of fixing it, cut the things that need to be cut and don’t create new spending or programs we cannot afford. That would be a start. What some fail to see is that the “People” are not running this Government, the political professionals are. Most of them have been corrupted. It is “We the People”! and we have all learned that when we divide our Nation our Nation and it’s people become weak! So far that political trick is working very well. It is the politicians who make up these divisions. Abortion should not be a political issue, but, because it divides people – it is. Immigration is another issue. Just follow the law. Most people in America don’t know how our Government works, that includes me. But what I do know is that the States continue to loose their authority and the Federal Government continues to encroach.
Whom ever is in power needs to understand that spending our way out is not going to work. It doesn’t work for me or you in our personal life and it will not work for our Nation. Beware the free handouts-nothing is free, and soon we will no longer be free either.
To Ameire, you need to get your facts straight. Reagan enacted lower marginal tax rates in conjunction with simplified income tax codes and continued deregulation. The federal deficit fell from 6% of GDP in 1983 to 3.2% of GDP in 1987.[3] The federal deficit in Reagan’s final budget fell to 2.9% of GDP.[2] The rate of growth in federal spending fell from 4% under Jimmy Carter to 2.5% under Ronald Reagan
Sorry ameire, such an ill informed comment may fly on a radical liberal website, but this isn’t one. You may have had a limited point if you’d said George Bush instead of Ronald Regan… It is Republican presidents like Bush (and Herbert Hoover), who are basically Dem-o-lites, who pave the way for the radical liberal destroyers like Barack Obama (and FDR). In many ways FDR only continued (at a more intense level) the destructive policies begun by Hoover. And, to a lesser extent, Obama has been able to successfully push his ideas (such as trillion dollar bail outs) as far as he has because Bush (a supposed conservative) had shown the way down that road. So how could moderate Republicans (who supported such nonsense) fail to show support for Obama when he wanted to do the same destructive things.
But blaming Ronald Reagan in the way you have is a bit like blaming the plate (you put your food on) for making you fat. It doesn’t make any sense, because it is just factually wrong.
Maybe I just need more coffee this morning but hasn’t it gone up 100% since about 2003? Or am I missing something.
@Erik: Unfortunately it almost has! The ceiling was raised to $7.4 trillion in 2003 and we just hit the current $14.3 trillion limit last week.
Take notice fellow American sufferers!!! ALL Politicians are in the
oliticing game” for one reason…themselves. they care not one spot for us, the lowly american. As far as the debt ceiling is concerned, unfortunately, this country cannot take much more debt before it collapses. Our great nation needs to be run by “US” the average Joe and Jane.
Everyone keeps talking about stopping the madness that is our government. I keep asking the same questions and not one person has had an answer. HOW do we stop it? Where do I sign up to help stop it? What steps do we need to take to stop it? And yes, I vote, so that doesn’t seem to be the answer. We replace old problems with new ones and it doesn’t get any better. Seems hopeless……
Just stop voting! All of them are borrowing money to spend on programs that will get them re-elected.
I am so outraged by this Government of ours in their huge spending spree. Us American tax payers are sticking to a budget and we demand that this Administration do the same to set a example for the rest of us. I urge voters please STOP voting for these politicians who are Liberal, Progressives. Do your homeowrk before you vote. Otherwise we are back to the same old garbage in Washington. Don’t vote for those who support amnesty, Don’t vote for those who like to spend on pork,waste tax payers money. These are a few you need to look for and stay away from. We as Americans need someone who is business smarts and who is physically responsible in money,balancing a budget. NO TO RAISING THE DEBT CEILING.!!!!!!!!
Also, you did not cover the Corbel decision which will force the International court to act and down grade the United States because Congress will pul an Andrew jackson in defy the ruling of its own court. http://corbeldecision.com
From 1940-80 the wealthiest Americans paid between 70% and 90% in income taxes
and that’s how we built…the American Dream. Between 1940-80 we fought and paid for WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, we built our entire US Interstate Expressway system and WE WENT TO THE MOON SIX TIMES-AND WE PAID FOR IT ALL!
I’m Chip Shirley
The Dixie Dove
http://thedixiedove.com/