Debt ceiling debate obscures larger tax-and-spend issues Re: “How adults can discuss the federal budget and debt limit,” Editorial, May 1
The Examiner‘s editorial makes two points concerning whether to raise the debt ceiling:
1. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has been crying wolf. His deadline for raising the ceiling has already passed without any ill effects.
2. Unless cost cutting is linked to increasing the ceiling, it should not be raised.
The unstated thrust of the editorial is that both the debt ceiling and continuation of debt service payments are both symbolic, since the world’s creditors all understand that the U.S. is ultimately good for the owed money. All we have to do is print more and all will be well.
The Examiner needs to broaden the aperture of its critical thinking about this issue.
Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said recently that the debt ceiling itself is a fiction and ought to be scrapped. By passing irresponsible tax cuts and spending increases, Republicans and Democrats in Congress guarantee that any debt ceiling will be exceeded.
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., said that no default on interest payments would be needed if the debt ceiling were not raised. The budget could be balanced immediately simply by cutting 40 percent off the spending side.
Richard C. Kreutzberg
Chevy Chase
Fed has always been a political animal
Re: “Politicizing the Fed is a dangerous move,” April 30
The take-away from the Federal Reserve’s first press conference is not that it has been politicized, but that it has been exposed as the political entity it already was.
Since its creation, the Fed has helped Congress run massive deficits. Its board is appointed by the President and approved by Congress. They know who gave them their power — and they reward Congress with artificially low interest rates. Without them, Congress couldn’t afford more and more debt.
This racket isn’t new. What’s new is that for the first time, people care. Since the Fed’s first ever audit this year, people have discovered how the Fed is just as beholden to political special interests as Congress, how it funds huge deficits, fuels economic bubbles, and secretively bails out foreign banks and corporations.
Bernanke hasn’t suddenly become politicized, he’s suddenly become scared that the American people are waking up.
David Bier
Alexandria
Obama still won’t produce other critical documents
Re: “Now can we get on with the real debate?” Editorial, April 27
Even those smirking anti-birthers sneering “I told you so” have no credible response when asked why Barack Hussein Obama refused to show his birth certificate earlier. What would have been the harm?
And they still can’t explain why President Obama steadfastly refuses to release many other documents that might reveal where his true allegiance lies.
Ben Arnold
Centreville
