Debt Ceiling
The United States Debt Ceiling Darien Jenkins COMM/215
The United States Debt Ceiling Some has likened the United States current debt problems as the “Titanic.” A foreboding doom that will affect every citizen in America. One may ask about where and who this problem started with, one will probably obtain different answers. Currently, the United States credit is maxed out and credit rating could be affected even if payments continues to be made. It has also been said by the president that even Social Security and Medicare recipients may not obtain their money if the two August deadline is not met to raise the debt ceiling. Tough choices will need to be made by the United States government officials, and in the end holding on to one’s fundamental beliefs with no compromise could be detrimental to the United States as a major player in the world. To keep what is best for the American people in mind and not one’s political goals or aspirations when making decisions on the debt crisis should be the number one priority for elected officials. The United States was noted to hit the debt ceiling on May 16 (Sahadi, 2011). The debt ceiling as described by Sahadi (2011), “A cap set by congress on the amount of debt the federal government can legally borrow. The cap applies to debt owed to the public plus debt owed to federal government trust funds such as those for Social Security and Medicare” (United States Hits Debt Ceiling, para. 9). Currently the United States sits at $14.3 trillion dollar debt ceiling (Jaffe, 2011). The United States Congress wish to raise that ceiling between $2 - $4 trillion dollars so the United States can pay its bills. Those extra dollars will come from taxes and cuts to programs. With this, the disconnect begins with the political parties. Most republicans seem to believe that tax cuts pay for themselves (Swonk,
The United States Debt Ceiling Some has likened the United States current debt problems as the “Titanic.” A foreboding doom that will affect every citizen in America. One may ask about where and who this problem started with, one will probably obtain different answers. Currently, the United States credit is maxed out and credit rating could be affected even if payments continues to be made. It has also been said by the president that even Social Security and Medicare recipients may not obtain their money if the two August deadline is not met to raise the debt ceiling. Tough choices will need to be made by the United States government officials, and in the end holding on to one’s fundamental beliefs with no compromise could be detrimental to the United States as a major player in the world. To keep what is best for the American people in mind and not one’s political goals or aspirations when making decisions on the debt crisis should be the number one priority for elected officials. The United States was noted to hit the debt ceiling on May 16 (Sahadi, 2011). The debt ceiling as described by Sahadi (2011), “A cap set by congress on the amount of debt the federal government can legally borrow. The cap applies to debt owed to the public plus debt owed to federal government trust funds such as those for Social Security and Medicare” (United States Hits Debt Ceiling, para. 9). Currently the United States sits at $14.3 trillion dollar debt ceiling (Jaffe, 2011). The United States Congress wish to raise that ceiling between $2 - $4 trillion dollars so the United States can pay its bills. Those extra dollars will come from taxes and cuts to programs. With this, the disconnect begins with the political parties. Most republicans seem to believe that tax cuts pay for themselves (Swonk,
References: Sahadi, J. (2011). America 's Debt Crisis. Cable News Network. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/16/news/economy/debt_ceiling_deadline/index.htm Jaffe, M. (2011). ABCNEWS/Politics. ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/debt-ceiling-us-government default/story?id=14047647 Swonk, D. (2011). United States Executive, 18. http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ Wearden, G.(2011) ABC News (2011). The Note. Retrieved from http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/07/house-members-spar-over-role-of-social-