Debt Ceiling crushing the American People
The debt ceiling that is crushing the spirit of the American people is the recipient of my Throat Punch this Thursday. I am by no stretch of the imagination a financial analyst and I don’t pretend to understand every aspect of the debt that is slowly strangling our nation. I am, however, strange as it may be, a political scientist and am I embarrassed by the child like antics that are taking place in our government today. Basically, its like a school yard disagreement in which the bullies (R) have decided that they don’t like losing the game so they are holding the ball hostage. The ball is the debt ceiling. They want it their way or no way. The president is left with no way to control the ball; where it is thrown or who it might hit. So, he has to stand there, with an “oh shit, someone help me” look on his face, at the mercy of the bullies. Meanwhile, all the poor unsuspecting children (you and I) playing in the school yard ( obliviously enjoying life) are about to get the air knocked right out of us with the weight and force of that ball. The debt ceiling is going to crush us.
The problem is not only that the house is holding the ball hostage but that the government, as a whole, has been playing fast and loose with our nation’s capital. It’s no wonder that most Americans are mortgaged to the hilt, we are following the example of our government. The problem is that once you get in this cycle of spending money that you don’t have, borrowing from others, compounding interest and taking lines of credit that you will never have the capability to pay back, you can’t recover …unless you have some rich uncle who kicks the bucket and leaves you a fortune. Bad news, the United States has no rich uncle who’s about to kick the bucket. We are a beautiful, grand nation in a financial hole. Who cares if you are one of the wealthiest nations in the world if your debt outweighs your worth by the trillions? It’s simple mathematics. Any which way you try to spin it, our past has caught up to us and it’s about to bite us in the ass.
Debt Ceiling has nation in a strangle hold
This is happening to individuals all over the country on a more personal level. What do you think all the downsizing and foreclosures have been about for the past couple of years? The horrible fact of the matter is that once people see you struggling they see you as weak. Next, people try and take advantage. You are broke so let’s just go ahead and raise your interest, cut off your credit and punish you for wanting more time to pay your bills. No! We won’t work with you until you are so upside down in debt that you are losing your job, your house, your car and we are taking the very food out of your mouth. Oh yeah, while you are down there..let’s kick you again for good measure. Now, be a good little indentured servant and stay down. Oh wait, we need to completely crush your fighting spirit so let’s go ahead and tell you that you are ugly and we never liked you in the first place. This is the position that the debt ceiling , where it’s at, is putting us. It is making us vulnerable. Sure it’s fun to hear Jon Stewart call Boehner the saddest tangerine or to see the deer in headlights look the president got when he was pleading with the American public to contact their congress but none of that is productive.
Believe me, there will be plenty lined up to come and kick us when we are down. We need to cut spending. Raising the limit will only prolong the impending doom. If an individual were completely destitute and the banks just kept continually increasing their credit line and compounding the interest would that really be helpful? Hell NO! It only makes the debt bigger, the interest higher and chances are that individual will NEVER pay off that debt completely and so the cycle continues. I hate to say it but my crazy parents were right all along, if we can’t pay cash we should probably not buy the item because obviously we can’t afford it. Maybe we should have some old timers who survived the depression have a chat with government. They could fix the debt ceiling with their sage old school financial planning. I’m pretty sure my grandpa could have made the debt ceiling his bitch; he would have Chuck Norris style karate chopped a sunroof in the debt ceiling…just for sunlight because God knows he would have had it under control.
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13 comments
I believe that we have to hit rock bottom before we can finally climb out of this ridiculousness. And we clearly haven’t hit the bottom yet. Of course this idea scares me…..
CHristine,
It scares me too. Rock Bottom frightens me to death, considering that some people are already at rock bottom but apparently, we need a stronghold on rock bottom to do anything constructive:)
This is very scary!
I was in crazy debt a couple of years ago and the only way I got out was to stop using credit and only use cash.
The government would do well to use that approach.
I agree 100%! This debt ceiling situation is totally out of control. At this rate the entire nation, including government, should take a cue from what you did! You go girl!
Hear, hear. I wonder what’s going to happen when the Chinese finally start dumping the dollar and suddenly gas costs $10 a gallon. Something’s gotta change, and quick. But the pessimist in me says it’s going to get a helluva lot worse before it gets any better.
And don’t forget that something like 95% of our debt payments are in interest to banks. What do other countries do? They take over those banks and force them to play ball. I’m not saying it’s pretty, and it does tend to go against American principles, but at some point the government may not have any choice.
Great post.
What you’ve written about today is VERY scary – the big picture and how it affects the little people.
I can’t say I remember a time in my existence when the Canadian dollar has stayed even or been worth more than the American dollar for such a long period of time.
As a society we rely way to much on credit. Our grandparents old school ways of paying for something in cash has value. If you don’t have the money, you can’t spend it.
A great topic!
Stop spending, you assholes! If I have $100 and what I want is $200, I SAVE MONEY. This is going to make people clamp down on their wallets even more. Who’s going to have money left after being taxed to death?
Debt is a very scary thing. We are working really hard right now to get our finances in check. You are so right when you say that paying cash is best. If you can’t really afford it, then why buy it in the first place. Powerful message and powerful writing, Debi! I always love your throat punches! xoxo
Well said! Pass this on to Fox News and see if they’ll broadcast it 🙂 Every time I see Obama’s face he looks more gaunt and like he hasn’t slept for days. If his face is a reflection of it all, then it says what is in store for our country if our government can’t work together and get past this division.
Great post. I’m becoming truly worried that they’re actually crazy enough to send us into default. Your analogy of the schoolyard bullies is spot on. That some Republicans are coming out and saying that taking down Obama is the most important thing on their agenda is so wrong on so many levels. With unemployment and the very real concerns facing our country, this isn’t the time for game-playing, it’s the time for them to step up and truly work to make things better and it makes me so sad and angry that that’s not happening. I also wonder when, we, as regular citizens, find a way to say enough is enough and have it count for something. We haven’t seen any significant banking reforms since the Great Recession started and it seems that Wall Street’s carrying on as before while everyone else suffers. The discrepancy between CEO pay and the pay of the average worker is ridiculously out of whack and most of us are left just wondering how to remedy that.
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