Explaining The National Debt Ceiling For Dummies

Those afflicted with ADD can skip to my commentary below

First off we have to explain Unfunded Mandates These require certain things take place in which no money is provided for. On top of that there are also a bunch of legislative commitments congress made outside the budget. In short.. spending money that was never provided for.

I could lists hundreds of these, but for the sake of brevity here are a few that affect the national debt...
* The costs for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have not been funded. Instead they have been paid for through emergency supplemental appropriations bills. WIKIPEDIA: "The costs of the 2003-2010 Iraq War are often contested, as academics and critics have unearthed many hidden costs not represented in official estimates. The most recent major report on these costs come from Brown University in the form of the Costs of War project, which said the total for wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan is at least $3.2-4 trillion extra spending to care for veterans returning from combat through 2050.An update in 2013 topped this at US$6 trillion." Here's a second source: "Cost to US of Iraq and Afghan wars could hit $6 trillion"

* The 'supplemental appropriations' (unbudgeted dollars that were borrowed) for hurricane Sandy totaled $60.4 billion. See also HR 152: Making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013

* According to The Center for American Progress "Analysis found that the federal government—which means taxpayers—spent $136 billion total from fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2013 on disaster relief."

* H.R.1301 - Inspiring Scientific Research and Innovation Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2013 (An additional $3 billion to the National Institutes of Health)

COMMENTARYI've given you just four examples that account for a portion of the $16.751 trillion we've already spent before we had the money to pay for them as of October 9, 2013.

This is why I find it so frustrating dealing with 'Tea Party' extremist who got elected to congress. This isn't about what Obama wants to spend. This is about what congress already spent and presidents agreed to by signing congress's enacted prior legislations. These newly elected members who are adovcating for not raising the debt limit are being more reckless then any of the congressional sessions that preceded them. Don't they realize the treasury department has been cooking the books just to make it this far?

You see as of April 2, 2013 almost $5 trillion of the national debt is owed by the government to itself (through Intragovernmental holdings). If congress refuses to raise the debt ceiling in order to avoid a global financial collapse (through us defaulting on our obligations), the U.S. government will be forced to first use those holdings to protect foreign investors. So let's take a look at who's really going to get screwed here first.

Intragovernmental holdings: This is money borrowed and owed to the Medicare Trust Fund, the Social Security Trust Fund, and Federal Financing Bank securities (to name just three of largest).

As Of 2008

Some of these radicals are saying we will still meet our obligations, even if we don't raise the debt ceiling. This may be true, but they didn't say how did they? As any fool should plainly see the United States in order to avoid a global default will have to renege on their IOU's somewhere else first. Take a look at that chart again. Guess who!

This is a Tea Party extremist dream come true. The stripping/defunding of Social Security, Medicare, pensions, unemployment, disability, the FHA and other obligations government made to the American people. All of which they consider 'socialist' programs.

Who would adopt a attitude against them and lose nothing if they should go away?

It would be some of the wealthiest Americans who have the most to gain from having Tea Party zombies in congress. Why would rich people care about these programs? They will never have to depend on any of them to get by. Nor want to help pay into them either. I'm not saying all wealthy people. There is only a handfull of these selfish people. Just enough to support cuts and defunding efforts across the local, state and federal levels to do damage.

The double whammy, as I explained earlier, is that the biggest investors in the national debt will most likely be paid first via cuts to these programs in failing to raise the debt ceiling. Sometimes it isn't how rich you are, but rather how poor the next guy is.

These fools aren't putting a gun to Obama's head..
they are putting it to ours!