Draft D-Day

Today was “Debt D-day” as the United States reached its $14.3 trillion dollar debt ceiling, and now, the nation confronts the possibility of default unless political parties negotiate spending cuts or agree to raise the debt ceiling. With the looming threat of a double dip recession, Treasury Secretary Geithner strongly advises the latter, “I have written to Congress on previous occasions regarding the importance of timely action to increase the debt limit in order to protect the full faith and credit of the United States and avoid catastrophic economic consequences for citizens. I again urge Congress to act to increase the statutory debt limit as soon as possible”. Raising the debt ceiling is necessary to preserve national credit, maintain stability in the global market, and avoid default-induced high interest rates that would only lead the economy into a deeper hole. It is a measure that the Treasury advises, the Obama administration supports, and many House and Senate Democrats rally behind.

Unfortunately, Republicans view the possibility of full-blown economic crisis as an opportunity to advance their own agenda. They recognize the urgency of this situation and hope to pressure Democrats into extreme cuts in necessary social programs. As The Atlantic columnist David Indiviglio states, “Republicans will inevitably vote to raise it (the debt ceiling), but they're using the necessity of doing so as a bargaining chip for broader spending cuts in the name of deficit reform”. Representative Paul Ryan’s (WI-1) spending cuts are the driving force of these Republican efforts. His budget proposal transforms Medicare and Medicaid from a direct payment system into a combined voucher and state grant system, an overhaul that only hurts seniors and the nation’s poor. Although bipartisan budget cuts are absolutely necessary, extreme attacks on social programs are unacceptable when oil companies and the wealthy receive billion dollar tax breaks. Democrats must not sacrifice the progressive gains of the past fifty years in the heat of the moment, and they cannot concede to short term pressure that would yield long term consequences.