On Friday, July 22nd, after the "Cut, Cap, and Balance" bill was passed and a deal was made in the House, the United States Senate voted to kill the Republican backed proposal. In an article written by Maria Recio, the author talks about the failed proposal and what lawmakers in Texas think about the "tabled" legislation. She states, "The measure is designed to cut and cap spending and require Congress to pass a balanced budget amendment before the debt ceiling can be raised." The idea that the Senate immediately ceased discussion of the bill has angered many citizens, especially those in Texas. Many citizens in Texas agree that the government needs a balanced budget bill, as well as an extreme cut in spending. However, there are many citizens who push for a raise in the debt ceiling. In the article, the author agreed with and quoted Representative (Texas) Joe Barton saying, "We need to spend less money--short term, this year. We need to spend less money in the next five years. And we need a constitutional amendment that locks in a balanced budget."
Though the plan may have serious issues with it, it was a bipartisan collaboration that actually resulted on some legislation being passed for once. I do not believe that people are angry because the bill was killed by the Senate. I think citizens, like conservatives in Texas, are more frustrated with the different sides in Washington who are unable or even unwilling to cooperate. After negotiations, debates, and the bill being passed through compromise in the House, it is almost shameful that the Senate could not even debate the legislation. I am NOT a proponent of raising the debt ceiling. I believe taking that path is taking the easy way out. Each time the ceiling is raised, more debt is allowed and essentially expected to add to the deficit. I agree that the U.S government and the state of Texas need to highly focus on budget cuts and stop putting off the issues that need to be dealt with by raising debt ceiling.
I agree with your point of view on your commentary about the “Cut, Cap, and Balance” bill. By raising the debt ceiling, government may solve the current economic problems. However, it is not the permanent solution to cure the economy. Instead, it is just pushing the problem to the next legislature with even increased burden for them to solve. It is only borrowing more money in debt to aid economic problems of present. Then, who is responsible for that amount of increased debt and even more increased interest for it? Currently, U.S. debt is already huge enough that people are expecting the government default in five days. Raising the debt ceiling is just a temporary and superficial solution that does not cure anything at all in reality. Controlled government spending and balanced budget is the only possible way to cure the long-term sufferings of economy. Now is the time to reduce the debt and balance the budget, not to increase the debt ceiling again. Government and the legislature should seek for the ultimate solution to recover the economy. I believe the first step to do so is by balancing the budget while focusing on reducing the amount of debt eventually.
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