The US Debt Ceiling
I’ve been hearing about government shutdown and debt ceilings for quite awhile. But what does it really mean? This infographic attempts to explain how we are “kicking the can down the road” yet again.
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Buck
Raising a debt ceiling doesn’t sound like any better idea that our government getting into debt in the first place. They need to get this thing in check. If we ran our households like that we’d be eternally in debt. Come to think of it that’s what a lot of people are doing. And the government is not setting any good example.
Michelle Obama–stop worrying about the rest of us are eating and start jumping on your husband to cut back government spending.
It’s scary how huge the debt is and it looks like the government will never pay it down. You’re right about not setting a good example. No wonder so many people have debt problems!
The debt ceiling is a non sequitur for the US debt. The debt is due to money that Congress has already spent. I agree that the debt should be reduced going forward. The debt ceiling, however, is just a political gimmick that gives the politicians something to make noise about. From Fortune Magazine, “It [the debt ceiling] really is like a nuclear bomb,” says Buffett on Wednesday at Fortune’s annual Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C. “It’s something that maybe you talk about but never dream of using.” Buffett’s not alone. He joins the likes of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke who argue the debt ceiling makes no sense and wishes it didn’t exist.
Interesting analogy with a nuclear bomb. Thanks for sharing Bryce! Let’s hope it doesn’t blow up in our face. The Great Recession a few years ago felt pretty darn close!
In the first place the shutdown and raising the debt ceiling shouldn’t have happened. These shouldn’t even exist in the first place. I completely agree with the comments here.
The thing I don’t understand is how the democrats keep saying that Obama is reducing the budget deficit…..if that’s true, how does our total debt continue to rise at a faster rate than at any other time in history???
The sky rocketing debt ceiling is pretty scary! Who can really understand what politicians think? Wonder if the debt ceiling will ever come back down again.