Debt ceiling raised to 8.965 trillion.

[Cyrvak]

From CNN, the senate just approved an increased debt ceiling to 8.965 trillion dollars... now is it just me, or does it make more sense to try to decrease debt rather than just up the amount we're 'allowed' to have. To me this just shows another example of how the two party system is hurting the American nation, then again, when we're deployed all over the world, outsourcing jobs, and riddled with corprate scandles, what exactly can we do to decrease our national debt? The full artical is below.

"Senate OKs increased debt ceiling
Vote is 58-42 along party lines to raise federal cap for borrowing to $8.965 trillion.
March 16, 2006: 12:08 PM EST


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate approved Thursday a $781 billion increase in U.S. borrowing authority aimed at averting a possible government default on debt this month.

The Senate voted 52-48 to raise the federal debt limit to $8.965 trillion. The measure, the fourth time the cap has been raised since 2002, now goes to President Bush for signing into law.



Before the vote, the Republican-controlled Senate defeated a move by Democrats to amend the legislation. Had Democrats been successful, they would have forced the House of Representatives to vote on the bill before recessing on Thursday for more than a week.

The House approved the debt limit increase nearly a year ago, when it passed a fiscal 2006 budget blueprint.

The Senate amendment, by Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, would have required a study on the impact of rapidly-growing foreign-held debt.

Treasury Secretary John Snow urged Congress this week to raise the $8.18 trillion debt limit and to do so without weighing the measure down with amendments.

No Democrats voted for raising the debt limit, leaving Republicans with casting the politically-difficult vote in favor of increased borrowing.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said the rapid run-up in U.S. debt since 2002 was because of the "reckless fiscal policies of this president" and because of a Republican-controlled Congress that he said is a "rubber stamp" of Bush's initiatives."

[Last Roman]

the US is in debt, what's new?

[Ahlerich]

thats all leftist propaganda. reality is more dept more good for the country

[Mathias]

If they put enormeous number as what they are allowed to have in debt, their current debt will seem smaller....maybe

[Darth Wong]

The debt ceiling is basically like the credit limit on your credit card. This is like a person with no fiscal restraint who runs into the limit on his credit card and, instead of deciding to reduce his spending, runs to the bank to ask for a bigger credit limit.

Gee, good thing we don't have "tax and spend" Democrats in power, right? The Republican solution is so much simpler: borrow and spend.

[Last Roman]

Gee, good thing we don't have "tax and spend" Democrats in power, right? The Republican solution is so much simpler: borrow and spend.

I would prefer tax a little and spend more wisely over either of those two, but if I had to choose, I'd go with the dems

[Legio XX Valeria Victrix]

From CNN, the senate just approved an increased debt ceiling to 8.965 trillion dollars.

Wouldn't it be nice if we ALL had a debt ceiling of 8.965 trillion dollars? I mean, if states can do it, why can't individuals??

[Gorash]

Why doesn’t the government just declare bankruptcy to erase the entire national debt. I doubt the government is ever going to pay it off anyways.

[Lee1026]

Well, then that would collaspe the economy, it would also make sure that the United States will never be able to borrow another penny.

[Last Roman]

ya, it's probably not a good thing when the government declares brankruptcy.

I think that we should pay off the debt, but do it through other means

[Hub'ite]

Debt, smecht. We always have, and will always be in debt.

[Last Roman]

Debt, smecht. We always have, and will always be in debt.

not true. After WWI, we became a debt free nation.

[Lee1026]

We also did not have debt until about 1900 or so.

[Hub'ite]

Ahhh, I hate it when smart people make me feel dumb.

[Last Roman]

Ahhh, I hate it when smart people make me feel dumb.

don't worry, happens to me all the time

[Legio XX Valeria Victrix]

Ahhh, I hate it when smart people make me feel dumb.

Well, you're not necessarily wrong. In the age of globalization it will probably be harder to totally erase debt, but it is true that as recent as the Clinton administration the USA had not a defecit but a surplus.

And no matter what anyone says, it's just stupid to think that, economically speaking, having a debt is a good thing, or that debt should be deepened. If it doesn't make sense for personal expenditures, generally speaking it won't be good for nations either.

[Ahlerich]

ah i think beeing in dept is not that bad. almost every country is.
but raising the bar of the dept limit is a very bad sign and its not the first time in a short period of time.
if you make too much dept then the consequence is to attack that problem and at least find solution how new depts can be avoided.
i do not think that the government really works on that hard enough, not to say at all.
all those wars and terrorist politics just distract from the way closer problems and that those are not really handled by mr president and his squad

[The Fish]

We also ran a trillion dollar budget surplus during the last years of the Clinton administration. It was one of the big reasons Bush cited for the big tax cuts...then we had 9/11 and two wars, but he did it anyway.

[JP226]

I got an idea Ahlerich, how bout we not allow foreign investment at all?? I mean that's what debt really is, the more and more we can borrow illustrates the success we've generated for foreign investment. But let's can that idea, let's always create a positvie trade balance with keyensian and mercantilist policies. Let's can all that crap and become an isolationsists nation while at the same time throwing all the economic process of the last 60 years down the drain.

Debt is foreign investment, the fact that so many of you let us borrow more and more money is really a testament of how good we are at paying you back. The US has the most powerful economy in world. It would be like investing your cash into a stable and pwoerful blue chips country. Theoretically they are in debt as well, most of them anyway but they still make money and are always paying bock those investors and then some.

[Ahlerich]

I got an idea Ahlerich, how bout we not allow foreign investment at all?? I mean that's what debt really is, the more and more we can borrow illustrates the success we've generated for foreign investment. But let's can that idea, let's always create a positvie trade balance with keyensian and mercantilist policies. Let's can all that crap and become an isolationsists nation while at the same time throwing all the economic process of the last 60 years down the drain.

Debt is foreign investment, the fact that so many of you let us borrow more and more money is really a testament of how good we are at paying you back. The US has the most powerful economy in world. It would be like investing your cash into a stable and pwoerful blue chips country. Theoretically they are in debt as well, most of them anyway but they still make money and are always paying bock those investors and then some.

i have problems understanding you, maybe i got you completly wrong or you misunderstood me. with "attacking" the problem i ment "trying to solve the problem"

anyways usa has the strongest economy might be right. this economy is kept strong right now by borrowing more and more money, even more as the usa itself sets as its limit. i mean they made the limit because they thought "we shouldnt owe more for reasons".
reasons like raising interest...finally it gets harder and harder to make enough money to run the country without making more dept.so the presidents that will try to fix the us economy will have a hard time because the + the country makes get reduced more and more just by interest. it works right now but following generations will have to deal with it. probably higher taxes or higher unemployment etc.