The latest Bloomberg Businessweek cover story examines the potential impact of a political battle over the federal debt limit. While writer Peter Coy urges a “centrist” compromise, fans of limited government might enjoy reading the following:
Forty-six percent of those surveyed in a Mar. 31-Apr. 4 Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll said they opposed raising the debt ceiling. The pollsters asked the question again after giving the two sides of the argument: Some say that if the ceiling isn’t raised, bills, benefits, government salaries, and interest won’t get paid. Others say raising the ceiling “will make it harder to get the government’s financial house in order,” increasing debt held by other countries and owed by future generations. After considering those two propositions, the public’s opposition to raising the debt ceiling increased, to 62 percent.
This to-hell-with-it attitude is emboldening members of Congress who are preparing to force the debt-ceiling negotiations down to the last possible minute in hopes of extracting the maximum gain. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said on Apr. 12 it would be “irresponsible” to raise the debt ceiling without guaranteed limits on spending growth. Cantor may be gearing up for brinksmanship; others seem to invite a head-on collision. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Mar. 30 that raising the debt ceiling would be “nothing more than putting off the tough decisions until after the next election. We cannot afford to continue waiting.”
National Review Online editor-at-large Jonah Goldberg addressed this topic last week during an interview in Chapel Hill with CarolinaJournal.tv.
