Republicans Don't Care About the Debt Ceiling

It's the age-old tale: the GOP cares about the debt ceiling until they don't. Congressional Republicans love to talk about the debt ceiling and how it must be managed responsibly. Especially now that they have some leverage and an opportunity for some political theatre. However, their actions tell a different story.

Under the Trump administration, we saw a massive increase in our national deficit, growing from $665 billion to a whopping $2.1 trillion in just four years.

Thankfully, the Biden administration and Democrats took action to reduce this deficit by 33%, bringing it down to $1.4 trillion – which is still a hefty number, but much better than before.

Now that the national debt stands at an all-time high of $31.4 trillion, we have to look at who is responsible for this figure. Of that amount, Republican presidents since Reagan are responsible for over half ($17,46T), with Trump alone accounting for an astonishing $8,2T – and yet Republicans still seem to care about the debt ceiling? It's almost as if they conveniently forget who was in charge when it started to climb.

Not raising the debt ceiling would have devastating consequences for our economy. It would mean the government could no longer pay its bills, leading to an immediate cash flow problem and potentially even a default on payments like Social Security and Medicare benefits.

The Republican party in Congress should take their responsibility to manage the debt ceiling seriously - not just use it as leverage for political gain. Our economy depends on them doing so. After all, no amount of posturing and pretending to care is going to pay our bills - only responsible fiscal management will. Let's hope the Republicans in Congress realize that sooner rather than later.

At the end of the day, it's time for both sides of Congress to put aside their differences and focus on what is best for our economy. Raising the debt ceiling responsibly could be the key to a brighter economic future. It's a simple concept but one that shouldn't be overlooked - or taken lightly. Let's hope that Republicans in Congress take it seriously sooner rather than later.