Government shut-down (again)?
The Senate Republicans blocked a bill last night to fund the Government and raise our borrowing limit (you can't have one without the other as we're already running a $3.2Tn deficit this year). It is now just days before the Government runs out of money and the GOP is determined to bring this Government down one way or the other and insurrection didn't work so maybe bankruptcy will do the trick?
Senate Democrats sought to pass a House-approved stopgap measure that funds the government through Dec. 3, 2021, and suspends the debt limit through Dec. 16, 2022. They are racing to send the legislation to President Biden’s desk before the government’s current funding expires at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1st which, rumor has it, is Friday.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has notified lawmakers that the government may be unable to keep paying its bills on time as early as next month if Congress doesn’t authorize additional borrowing. “Social Security checks, Medicare benefits, veteran’s benefits, small business, all this and more are now on the chopping block because Senate Republicans are playing games with the full faith and credit of the United States,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said.
A vote to raise the debt limit doesn’t authorize new spending, instead essentially allowing the Treasury Department to raise money to pay for expenses the government has already authorized. About two-thirds of federal spending is automatic on programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, while the other third is discretionary and annually approved by Congress. A default on the debt could have catastrophic financial consequences, and the pressure on both parties to resolve the issue will likely grow as Congress nears the deadline.
CLEARLY from these charts, our debt is completely out of control but simply shutting down the Government is not the solution, is it?
IN PROGRESS
