Brian Richards | Default!

Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor
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The country is once again in a fight about raising the debt limit (as of this writing). There is plenty of fake news and ignorance about what this means, so in the interest of educating many members the public I thought I would help because you’re sure not going to get it from the mainstream media.

We are told endlessly that if we don’t raise the debt limit, that the country will “default.” They never say what we’re going to default on unless it’s something painful like Medicare or Social Security or interest on the debt. They never talk about “defaulting” on foreign aid or worthless cabinets like Education or Commerce. If the country did “default” on Social Security, Medicare, or our debt, it would indeed be truly calamitous. 

However, knowledge of the facts shows that the only way we would default on those things were if Joe Biden and the Democrats wanted to default on those things. They would CHOOSE to default on those things because they didn’t get their way on the debt limit increase.

“What are you saying, Brian?” What I’m saying is that this country takes in $4.7 trillion in various taxes that includes income taxes, payroll taxes, corporate taxes and a host of other taxes. This amount goes to the Treasury Department no matter what happens to the debt limit: bit.ly/45br70P. 

The yearly cost of Social Security, Medicare, and the debt, is $3.3 trillion. Thus, we have plenty to pay for those programs, unless of course President Biden and the Democrats don’t want to pay for those programs in order to inflict as much pain as possible: bit.ly/45cXHPM.

 Let me put it in a simpler way. Suppose your income and monthly expenses were $10,000 a month. Suddenly your income dropped to $9,000 a month. Would you stop paying your house payment and risk foreclosure? Would you stop paying for your car and risk repossession? Would you stop paying for your credit cards and risk bad credit? Or perhaps would you stop going out to dine? Maybe cut back on buying clothes? Cut back on recreation? Buying less expensive groceries? 

In every case you might find there was a thousand dollars of fat somewhere in your monthly budget that you could cut without impacting the important things. 

This is the predicament our government is in right now. If Social Security or Medicare or debt payments are suspended, it’s because Joe Biden wants it to be suspended. I can’t say those words enough!

The next part of the lesson involves the messy but required aspect of having to ask Congress permission to raise the debt ceiling. This can be done via a “clean” raise where there are no preconditions, or a “dirty” raise where Congress is asking for conditions in order to raise the debt limit. Currently the House has approved a “dirty” increase. The condition that they are demanding is that the country returns to spending from three short years ago, pre-pandemic. I’m pretty sure everyone knows spending went through the roof during the pandemic, but now that it’s over, it’s time to at least try to get our fiscal house in order. 

Since 1960 the country has voted to raise the debt limit 78 times under both parties in the presidency and under both parties’ control in one or both houses of Congress: bit.ly/3MdKzkX.

In many cases of those 78 instances, the debt limit increase was a dirty one. To hear President Biden DEMAND a clean debt limit increase must mean he never opposed a clean debt limit increase, right? Readers by now should assume what’s next. President Biden voted against clean debt limit increases as a senator. 

In fact, he voted for a dirty increase on several occasions: bit.ly/3pOiXLG. And yet now he demands a clean debt limit increase, or else.

The blatant hypocrisy of President Biden should surprise nobody. It’s what he does! What Republicans are asking for isn’t a lot, only to return to pre-pandemic spending. It’s reasonable and hardly extreme, but you would never know it listening to the left. 

Just remember, if we do default on anything major, it’s Joe Biden who wants it to happen.

Brian Richards

Stevenson Ranch

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