The Debt “Ceiling” is Unconstitutional

Apparently that isn't true. If they had secured the credit they would have the money.

I've addressed this endlessly on the forum and I don't want to write a book here. Basically, the constitution gives federal government some powers. They are defend the nation, deal and treat with other nations, provide for a stable currency, resolve interstate disputes and operate a postal service. Everything else goes to the states. 10th amendment in the bill of rights. It isn't my proposal. It is the way the founders designed the republic. It was designed to be a union of states, not a central government with provinces.

I recommend a single term limit for all elected offices, particularly those in the legislature. If we end incumbency and re-election, we reduce a major motivation for corruption. The congress is hopelessly corrupt and I think it revolves around re-election for the most part. It is also corrupt for money and we have laws to deal with that. All governments are corrupt to one extent or another but we can reduce it even though we aren't likely to eliminate it.

I also recommend that federal government answer to the states rather than the people. It is the states that should interface with the people because they are closer to the people. Federal revenue should come from the states rather than from direct taxation. Most of the taxes, then, should be paid to the states. The reason for this is that the states have competition in the form of other states. If a person doesn't like the way a state operates, he or she can move to another one. Competition improves efficiency and performance. Federal government has no competition. Hence its size, incompetence and corruption.

Money should never move from federal to state governments. That is a source of corruption. It should go the other way by having the states buy the federal government's services, those services being the ones defined in the constitution.

I could go on but I think you get the idea. The union of states was a great idea but is has been corrupted over the years.

 

They have the money.

The US has ways of borrowing MASSIVE amounts of money. They sell treasury notes, for example.

What they DON"T have is enough revenue to pay down what has been borrowed.

 

nope, it stops paying current bills, otherwise it would not be as big a issue

 

all the tax cuts for the rich are catching up with us

 

Absolutely.

 

Single term limits are a bad idea.

It takes time to learn the job. Constantly being run by newbies is not what we need in government.

Especially at the outset, unelected staff make the largest difference on what a congressman does. Having unelected staff have significantly more weight in government is a bad idea.

Guaranteeing congressmen that their job will end means that they need to use their office to ensure another job. That is NOT the kind of influence we should want to increase. It is recognized as already being too significant of an encouragement to cater to possible employers.

If my congressmen is adequately representing me, I do NOT want a law that says I can not vote for that congressman.


As for your funding ideas, let's remember that NUMEROUS major features of government are done once for the USA, and deciding to duplicate those features in each state would cost a TON more money, not just in duplication of overhead, and leave our nation fractured.

 

Utterly absurd. The only purpose of the tax code is to fund the government. Anything else is an unnecessary infringement upon the publics civil rights and an almost certain guarantee of rampant political corruption.

 

Since when does the left care about the constitution?

 

I think you are assuming that if tax advantages aren't used as a method of achieving an objective, then the government will give up on their objective.

I strongly doubt that.

Also, you'll need to identify this "rampant political corruption" that comes from this source along with who benefitted.

 

Start with Nancy making 9milion a year on a 200k salary, and she's got plenty friends doing just about as well on both sides of the aisle. Tell me why neither side will sign on to passing laws restricting lobbying? Tell me why we need 97k more irs agents to invest 1000 billionaires?

 

Donald T****! No wait, he's not a billionaire.

Nevermind.

 

Just have a longer term in office and stagger the elections. If you like the status quo then please enjoy the corruption. States have already duplicated every single federal cabinet function. Much of what federal governent does belongs in the private sector or the trash can. The decisions are better made in the states where they face competition from other states.

 

Strange opinion. Treasury notes are debt. If you have the money, you don't need debt. Pay attention, they are actually ruining the economy for their personal benefit.

 

So lobby your representatives to change the tax code. Giving tax cuts to only one group is corrupt. Or, perhaps, the tax cuts aren't for the rich.

 

And we're just going to pretend that Democrats haven't increased the debt limit?

https://bgrdc.com/history-of-debt-limit-and-why-it-matters/

At any rate, Congress passed the law that creates the debt limit, so far from artificial, it is recognized US Federal Law and while the SCOTUS can overturn it, doing so would be unprecedented and would involve the SCOTUS in country politics(more than we already presume it to be)

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/21/1150078028/debt-ceiling-explainer

(fun fact, Republicans have raised the limit more. Which is why Democrats use it to show conservatives to be inconsistent on fiscal policy and why even conservatives are realizing they're at risk of losing the conservative base as a whole.)

The REAL solution is a long term, fixed US Budget. Last achieved in about 2002.

 

lol!!! Neat trick, just ignore the discussion and insist on your dialogue.

Enjoy!

 

the debt ceiling is the discussion, what did you think it was about?

what's funny, is you took us there, I just commented on what you said

you aid "...the debt ceiling does not prevent the federal government from paying its bills. It prevents new additional spending that incurs new bills..."

maybe you're looking at it as a credit card statement as "the bill", rather then the payment is for the bills you already paid for by credit card and continue to pay by credit card as they were already authorized by Congress

 

I make no such assumption in fact I believe exactly the opposite. Government will usurp as much power from we the people as we the people will allow it. That is it's nature. My belief is that pruning back the governments ability to usurp that power is in the best interest of the people.

 

You may have misunderstood me, when I said "enjoy" I meant it. For me this convo has outlived it's reason for existence and I'm outa here but you can continue w/o me if you want.

A word of warning tho, some say that if you play by yourself too much you can go blind.

 

see ya

 

I don't believe we can punish politicians for making money. Many (such as Pelosi) came to politics with serious business background. Pelosi is a well published author. Etc.

I agree that lobbying and the gigantic, untraceable donations we allow are simply ways to allow the ultra rich and corporations to buy politicians.

It's not just 1000 who are cheating to the tune of hundreds of billions in unpaid taxes each and every year. Plus, the ultra wealthy and corporations tend to have seriously complex filings. It's not like these people don't have their own armies of tax accountants working to not pay taxes. Plus, prosecutions are seriously difficult. We've seen cases of Trump tax issues taking years to resolve.

 

I'm definitely opposed to the "competition between the states" idea for most issues.

 

Yes. That is how we borrow. We incur debt by selling treasury notes which are promises for future payment.

The question was how we borrow, wasn't it?

 

No it wasn't the question.

 

Figures. Government would also hate the idea. But nothing motivates improved performance like competition. Our entire economy is based on it.