Nothing is more critical to our nation’s future than forcing Congress to make and stick to a budget. This sounds easy; we can do it with our finances when needed. The process is the same; there are just more zeros at the end of each figure.
For that reason, on January 1, we will add this National Debt Tracker to our home page. This is the current crisis, and it stands on equal footing with illegal immigration as a nation-altering issue.
Our Nation’s Greatest Challenge
National Debt Information
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Hopefully, An End to the Two-tiered System
Americans are tired of a two-tiered sense of everything from insider stock trading to law enforcement and prosecutions to debt; we have had enough. Congress has not passed a budget in decades, which shows in our spiraling deficits. We elected President Trump to clean the house; this time, he has help. Congress has been like a teenager with Daddy’s credit card and no spending limit for decades.
This week, our national debt crisis has again been front and center in Congress as lawmakers try to pass a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown. But this time is very different, and it is already causing some teeth to gnash and hands to wring. The halls of Congress are reverberant with the coming footsteps of President Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk’s work suddenly reared up and bit Congress in a foretelling of things to come.
President Trump requested that the debt ceiling be raised or suspended to combat their incessant game of politics. While those in power often resist this provision, it removes one stick Congress uses to stop unwanted bills and votes. It also gives the DOGE Committee a chance to get in place and begin their work without a debt ceiling crisis hanging over their heads and forcing votes that disrupt their work. However, the debt ceiling has value in control over Congress, so I hope it is never permanently suspended.
The New Sheriff in Town
What is different with President Trump is that he is willing to let the government shut down, and doing so would reinforce his claims that spending is out of control and the deep state is the driver. He knows that most spending is “baked in,” and letting the government shut down is mainly symbolic. The federal government will not miss social security, military, or other critical spending because Congress made these exempt from these conversations years ago.
Federal employees might get furloughed, and if President Trump wants to drive his points on spending home, they should not reinstate their pay when they come back. Let Congress miss a payday, and the message might begin to resonate.
“If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now,”
Senators and Congressmen tried to pass a 1,500-page bill full of pork for everyone, including a full rewrite of private healthcare. This was nothing more than one more bite at the deficit spending apple while we went further down the debt rabbit hole. Attempting to get the bill through, they attached $100 billion in relief aid for flood victims. A second attempt with a 116-page bill with fewer contentious issues also failed.
Of particular concern is that this was a bipartisan bill, and Republican voters now know better. This is a perfect illustration of Washington’s problems. The inbreeding is so bad that in Congress, there is little difference between Democrats and Republicans so long as the money flows and the spending party continues.
The Same Old Media and Democrat Nonsense
Some in the media seized the opportunity to warn against President Trump introducing chaos into his second term. However, the Democrats still control the Senate until January 20, so if there is chaos, they own it. Democrats still do not get it, and the public is through with the grandstanding. Democratic Representative Hakeem Jeffries immediately claimed,
“GOP extremists want House Democrats to raise the debt ceiling so that House Republicans can lower the amount of your Social Security check.”
He also claimed we were in a MAGA swamp and that the country would shut down, the economy would crash, and this would hurt working-class Americans more than at any time in history. This is as likely as Nancy Pelosi giving up insider trading, and voters know it.
“I’m ready to stay here through Christmas because we’re not going to let Elon Musk run the government. We had a bipartisan deal—we should stick to it.”
Nice try, but a bad bipartisan bill is no better than any other bad bill. A bill that is bad for the American people and furthers our debt problems is a bad bill.
The Last Thirty Days
Democrats need to remember that in President Trump’s first term, one thing you could count on was his sticking to his campaign promises and word. He will cut spending and might just be facing a President Ronald Reagan moment as a gift from Democrats. Like President Reagan, having millions not show up for work and firing them all might be the gift he wants to jump-start the cost-cutting process.
Resources and Further Reading
Biden finally breaks silence on congressional stock trading: ‘I don’t know how you look your constituents in the eye’, By Ariel Ziber, New York Post, nypost.com, December 18, 2024.
Here’s what to know about debt ceiling debate as govt shutdown looms in US, Associated Press, Business Standard, business-standard.com, December 20, 2024.
Trump says Congress should abolish the debt ceiling. These are the pros and cons, By Joseph Lawler and Zach Halaschak, The Washington Examiner, washingtonexaminer.com, December 20, 2024.
Trump wants debt ceiling in the budget deal. If not, he says let the government shutdown start now, By Lisa Mascaro, Farnoush Amiri, and Matt Brown, Associated Press, apnews.com, December 20, 2024.
Trump’s Debt-Ceiling Demand Signals A Return To Chaotic Governance, By Ben Ritz, Forbes, forbes.com, December 19, 2024.
