President Barack Obama’s top economic adviser issued an odd-sounding rebuke recently to Republicans in Congress. At issue is whether Congress should raise the “debt ceiling” from its current so-called “limit” of $14.3 trillion.
Of course, it’s not a “ceiling” at all if Congress keeps raising it, burdening generations of Americans with back-breaking debt and, ultimately, crippling tax increases. But the president’s economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee, suggested that the “debt ceiling” should be raised as a matter of course. He declared, “I don’t see why anybody’s talking about playing chicken with the debt ceiling.”
He’s half right. No one should “play chicken.” The catastrophic national debt is not a game to be played but a burden to be reduced. Clearly, however, Republicans should not follow the administration’s unwise advice and raise the “debt ceiling,” permitting even more reckless spending by Washington.
With our debt fast approaching $14 trillion, this is a time not to make the debt larger but to cut spending.