Lately, the negotiations to increase the US debt limit have been catching a lot of attention in the media. At first glance, it may seem idiotic that both sides are effectively playing chicken with the nation's, as well as perhaps the world's, economy. Should the US fail to raise its debt ceiling, it would be unable to legally continue borrowing to fund its perpetual deficit, and its bills and obligations would start to go unpaid. This, of course, would not only lead to social security and military paychecks stopping, but America's creditworthiness would (presumably) go down the toilet, and its borrowing costs would skyrocket. In short, not raising the debt ceiling could be monstrously disastrous. In fact, President Barack Obama has gone so far as to call out "professional politicians," saying, "for them to say that we shouldn't be raising the debt ceiling is irresponsible."
But there have also been some interesting speeches to the opposite. For example, in a speech on the Senate floor, one Senator said, "Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. . .I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America's debt limit."
To be fair, President Obama's admonition against the irresponsibility of not raising the debt ceiling happened in 2011. The Senator's speech was given in 2006.
Who was the Senator?
The Junior Senator from Illinois.
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| I was for the debt ceiling before I was against it. |
What would Senator Obama have to say about President Obama? So much for those "professional politicians," huh?
