January 17, 2013

The Debt Ceiling has Teeth

By Jonathon Moseley
President Obama should violate the debt ceiling, Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats are urging. Force Republicans to sue in court. Democrats are already violating legal requirements to pass a national budget each year. Republicans would lose even more influence if Democrats broke more laws. So does the national debt ceiling have 'teeth?' What would happen if Barack Obama simply shattered the debt ceiling, to avoid negotiating with Congressional Republicans? Democrats argue it would take a long time for appeals courts to wrangle through the dispute. Obama could go on spending for years while unpredictable judges sort it all out. In the interim, Obama could get his way. Democrats are beating the drum that Congress voted for the spending, so Obama faces legal uncertainty. In truth, Congress has not voted for a budget since Obama took office. A temporary Continuing Resolution expires on March 27, 2013. Democrats are fretting about paying debts. But of course new spending is not a debt....(Read Full Article)