. Fiscally responsible they are not. They’re practicing pure political chicanery, using the debt ceiling to hold the well-being of average Americans ransom to their ideological demands.
That’s exactly what they did after taking control of Congress in 2011. Back then Democrats acquiesced, resulting in the passage of the so-called Budget Control Act — a devastating economic austerity programmandatory spending — including Social Security and Medicare, veterans’ programs, housing and nutrition assistance for struggling families, support for farmers and small businesses and students, and Affordable Care Act subsidies that help insure tens of millions of Americans — could be fodder for the chopping block.The only responsible policy is to abolish the debt ceiling.
So this farcical problem demands a farcical solution: The Biden administration should simply mint a really, really big coin. That way, it could spend the money Congress has legally required it to spend — without borrowing the money Congress won’t let it borrow.