(RightWing.org) – Since January, Democrats giddily proclaimed they would spend trillions of dollars transforming America into a hybrid-socialist economic model. The Left is not shy about saying it wants to create a government-dependent welfare state. They’d do so by providing free community college, a pathway for illegal immigrants to gain citizenship, and an overhaul of American energy independence into an unsustainable renewable Green New Deal energy fiasco.
Democrats claim that Joe Biden’s Build Back Better $5 trillion 2-tier infrastructure plan will cost nothing. Of course, that’s not true, and anyone with common sense knows it. They plan to take from the haves and give to the have nots. It’s government control of the economy. By definition, that’s socialism. To pay for it in the future, Democrats need to raise the debt limit. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says that’s fine. But because the GOP has no say in the matter, why should it rubber-stamp the Democratic agenda with future debt spending?
Republicans Force Democrats to Own Their Spending
On Monday, October 4, President Joe Biden argued that Republicans were acting irresponsibly, hypocritically, dangerously, and disgracefully by refusing to work with Democrats to raise the debt ceiling. He called on the GOP to get out of the way. The GOP isn’t in the way, as proven by the $3.5 trillion ‘human’ infrastructure deal proposed in a go-it-alone partisan reconciliation package. Instead, Democrats are in their own way.
So, what are the politics behind what’s happening? The Democrats believe it’s okay to ram their far-left agenda down America’s throat. They claim they will raise taxes on corporations and on people making over $400,000 per year to pay for it. It sounds good until you realize the economics of it. Under the Obama/Biden administration, their corporate tax scheme failed miserably. Under their new plot, America could be even worse off than in 2015 and 2016.
Since Mid-July, McConnell warned Democrats to pass an increase in the debt ceiling on their own in the reconciliation bill. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said there is “no reason for us to facilitate bad policy that we disagree with.” Therefore, the Democrats should use reconciliation to increase the debt ceiling.
It’s paramount to a thief stealing your credit card, maxing it out, and the credit card company demanding you pay the bill. Democrats argue the debt ceiling increase is to pay for previous commitments. That’s true, but Democrats will also use new debt authorized to the Treasury Department to pay for their far-left agenda. Last week, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) warned the country couldn’t afford Social Security and Medicare as the two programs teeter on collapse.
There are a few other political considerations. If Democrats do increase the debt ceiling on their own, they own it. By far, voters don’t approve of the national debt and are concerned about its impact on future taxes, inflation, and their personal lives. According to a recent poll conducted by Politico and Morning Consult, 33% of voters would blame Democrats for a debt default, and only 16% would fault Republicans.
Additionally, if Democrats use reconciliation, they will be required to insert a specific amount of money the Treasury Department can borrow. The massive number will sit around their necks for all to see. That’s too risky for a party who’s not afraid to spend trillions of dollars under the guise of taking care of Americans from the cradle to the grave.
Democrats Argument Likely to Fail
While Biden and Democrats made their argument, McConnell reminded everyone on Monday that in 2003, 2004, and 2006, then-Senator Joe Biden voted against raising the debt ceiling. The Senate Minority Leader said the GOP doesn’t have any demands as it isn’t in a political position to make any. However, he warned the Democrats, and Moderates like Manchin and Sinema, who refused to listen to him and include it in their reconciliation package.
The fact is, the Democrats are the majority in the House and Senate, and a Democrat occupies the White House. Democrats could pass an increase of the debt ceiling without any help at all from Republicans. To this point, they chose not to do so. They risked the debt by trying to force the GOP to support their reckless agenda. It didn’t work.
The clock is ticking. In just a few weeks, the government will run out of borrowing capacity to increase the national debt, of which taxpayers own the majority. McConnell suggested that Democrats get moving.
The GOP is going to force the Democratic Party to own its policies. There’s no free lunch this time, despite all the talk of “free” these days.
Don Purdum, Independent Political Analyst
Copyright 2021, RightWing.org
