Early this morning, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to “raise the roof,” as the kids used to say. The US debt ceiling will be increased by $2.5 trillion after President Biden signs the bill (and, of course, he will sign it).
The debt ceiling is now at a whopping $31 trillion and will expire after the upcoming midterm elections into 2023. Then Congress can play the debt-ceiling game again, as they always do.
Congress thinks the American people are stupid. I mean, some of us are stupid, but that’s beside the point. The point is that they raised this debt ceiling such that it expires after their next election period. They don’t want to have to face reality. If they can just kick the issue down the road (again), then they don’t have to answer to their constituents (as if they ever do). This is all debt-ceiling theater. Congress is playing make-believe.
The debt ceiling might as well be $31 gajillion-bazillion-WTFadillion because there is no conceivable way to pay it off anyway. Default is the only way, but no one will say the word. In fact, the US government defaults on the debt every day that they create new money out of nothing. This is a sort of “stealth default.” They are servicing the debt by devaluing the currency. This hurts the people, of course, and certainly hurts the creditors that hold US debt (e.g., China). At some point, creditors will not take the abuse anymore. They know they are getting paid back in devalued dollars and there will be a reckoning at some point. A true default will occur. When that happens and what it will look like is unknown.
At the time of me writing this sentence, the US national debt clock has registered $29 trillion and some chump change.
Look at that mountain to the moon.
Dave Smith has a great stand-up bit where he reveals the simple answer to the national debt problem.
Check out his comedy special, Libertas. It’s wonderful.