Another year has begun — but this one is different. You may be surprised to learn this first day of classes might not have happened if a select few of our delightful politicians got their way. Here’s why:
For better or worse, raising the debt ceiling has been a routine legislative action for decades. But this summer, a group of congressional Republicans vowed to bring the issue to a head. Such political brinkmanship — the willingness of politicians to embrace potential catastrophe to get their way — is unsettling. But even more alarming was the popularity of the nuclear option — choosing to not, under any circumstances, raise the debt ceiling, thus likely letting the nation default.
We shouldn’t be racking up more debt by writing checks that we can’t cash, argued Republican presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and others. But reasoning like this is the moral equivalent of saying we shouldn’t rescue a drowning swimmer because he shouldn’t have been swimming in the deep end in the first place.
And sure, the U.S. government has indeed been swimming in the deep end. Roughly 40 percent of federal spending relies on borrowing from investors, businesses and other countries and eventually has to be paid back with interest. Of course that’s a large portion, but it’s the reality. If we had not raised the debt ceiling, as so many suggested, 40 percent of federal spending would vanish.
That’s not responsible budget cutting — that’s total disaster. Default can never be an option because of the incredible damage it would inflict on Americans’ way of life, but unfortunately, most of them don’t realize that.
There will always be legislators drawing lines in the sand and saying “my way or the highway,” so it’s imperative for American voters to know where exactly that highway would take us before allowing hard-nosed politicians to gamble with our collective future.
For us students, in particular, default would have been catastrophic. Federal aid to state governments helps states pay their budgets, which include school funding. If Bachmann got her way and the government never raised the debt ceiling, forcing irreversible default, this university would probably have lost major federal funding for certain projects and may have been forced to substantially increase tuition. And the problem would have been further compounded by the cessation of federal-aid programs such as Pell Grants, thousands of students would likely have been unable to return to school regardless.
Meanwhile, two million federal employees would have stopped getting paid. That includes your trusty food inspectors, post-office workers, FBI agents and many more.
Though the government would still have some revenues to apportion, it would have had to prioritize paying back investors over shelling out for other discretionary spending to maintain a decent credit rating. And with the subsequent chaos that would then descend on the American (and indeed, global) economy, future revenues would be profoundly reduced.
In short, not raising the debt ceiling would have broken our nation and ruined our futures. As the so-called “super committee” of six senators and six congressmen prepares to compose a new debt-reduction plan, it is incredibly important that they know the American public understands the cost of their failure. If those in Congress continue to draw lines in the sand, we’ll all soon be buried in it.
Greg Nasif is a senior history major. He can be reached at nasif@umdbk.com.
