Author: Alex Zeldin
As Congress looks to raise the debt ceiling for the ninth consecutive year, many Republicans are calling for an end to repetitive increases, while most Democrats feel the ceiling needs to once again be raised.
In this matter, both sides are correct in principle and their views should be merged into a single, coherent policy.
The Republicans argue that the debt ceiling (the maximum amount of money the US government can borrow to pay its debts) should not be raised. Republicans contend that the government should pursue budget cuts to keep the debt below the ceiling rather than raise the ceiling.
This is a fair point. We all have to live within our means. If one were in debt and possessed a credit card, he should stop spending on anything that was not necessary to his survival until he got his financial situation in check. One should then evaluate what got him into debt in the first place and try to eliminate anymore unnecessary purchases. The government should adhere to the same model of financial responsibility and avoid spending on non-essentials to avoid excess debt.
The Democrats say that they do not disagree with the Republicans in principle, yet they believe it is important to raise the debt ceiling if the U.S. Government faces the prospect of defaulting on its debt, which would further hinder the fragile economic recovery. Adapting the earlier credit card analogy, while we all have to live within our means, one who is in debt shouldn’t have his credit card taken away if that card is required for life saving purchases. Someone in a dire financial situation should remain in possession of a credit card in case his life is ever in jeopardy. The priority is for the individual to save his life, and dealing with the financial consequences becomes an issue to handle later. The same is also true with the government. If, God forbid, there were to be a state of emergency on par with September 11, a debt ceiling would make it unconstitutional for the United States to take the necessary steps to recover financially.
The Democrats and Republicans need to reach a middle ground from which they work in good faith to reduce as much excess spending as quickly as possible without hurting the recovery or eliminating important safety net programs. If the eleventh hour arrives and the spending cuts prove insufficient to reduce the debt, then the ceiling should be raised. Raising the ceiling again would not be unprecedented, as the majority of presidents in the last 10 years have approved increases.
The time for true compromise has arrived. If either party stone walls, the voters should hold them accountable for the consequences. As history shows, raising the debt ceiling is nothing new. The public has now reached a point where it is fed up with the growing federal debt and will not take it anymore. While the debt ceiling should be raised, the government must pass a budget that does not allow for the debt to continue to increase, whether it involves cutting spending, raising taxes or any other steps that will reduce deficit spending.
Alex Zeldin is a junior AHVA major. He can be reached at zeldin@oxy.edu.
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