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The US government has a strict limit on how much money it can be in debt. This is called the debt ceiling. Once the debt ceiling is reached, the government/President can no longer borrow money from other entities (other countries and governments). President Obama has spent so much money already, the US is about to reach its debt ceiling.

Obama wants Congress to raise the debt ceiling so his government can borrow more money. Obama states that if the debt ceiling is not raised, the US government may not be able to pay Social Security, the military, and other government employees due to lack of funds.

However, I believe what Obama is saying is misleading. The US government receives plenty of money from tax revenue every month. This money is more than enough to cover Social Security, military, and other such expenses. The US government is obligated by law to pay these debts 1st and foremost before other government programs receive money.

Many people in the country, especially conservatives, do not want Congress to raise the debt ceiling. These people are tired of the government spending and want Obama and future Presidents to cut back on spending. Next week on Tuesday, Congress will vote on whether or not to raise the debt ceiling.

Some economists feel that if the debt ceiling is not raised, the US government will default on some of its foreign debts, which would cause the US credit rating to fall...thereby reducing the value of the dollar. I do not believe this scenario will occur. The US is the only country in the world that can print as much money as it wants to and pay off its debts. This is because the US dollar is the top currency used across the world.

However, the US needs to be careful not to print too much money or it'll become worthless like the Mexican Peso. The real danger is government spending. Government spending needs to come down or we might one day be in serious economic trouble. But the debt ceiling vote next week won't cause disastrous economic consequences regardless of the vote in my opinion. The US government has plenty of money for years to come.

The US government needs to come up with something unique.

To be completely honest, I'm a conservative, and this is not all Obama'a fault.
Tax revenues have fallen sharply over the last 2 years , while spending has increased in efforts to spur the economy.
Bush spent a record amount of money during his administration, to the shame of most conservatives.

The debt ceiling will be raised on Tuesday, as it has been each time this situation has occurred in the past, but spending has to be reduced as well.
The main debate going on here is whether to reduce spending alone, or partner it with tax increases, to increase revenue. The conservative argument is that tax increases will further delay a economic recovery and will not force a spending reduction.

Spending cuts are easy to ask for, as long as they do not effect those that are asking for them.
But the easiest way out of debt is a healthy economy, which brings in lots of revenue.
The trick is to always bring in more than you spend, and everyone is struggling with that issue now.

The reason the number is increasing so quickly is primarily because of the interest accumulating on the national debt. When the US borrows money, it has to pay back interest just as if you borrowed money from a bank. If you borrow $1000 from a bank, you'll end up paying back more than a $1000 because of interest. The higher the interest rate, the more you'll have to pay back. The $1000 in this example is called the principle. Since the US is in debt trillions of dollars (just principle alone), even a small interest rate like 2% calculates to large dollar amounts. For example, 2% of a trillion dollars is $20 billion dollars. Interest accumulates every second until the principle (the original amount borrowed) is paid off. This is why it is very important to pay off your credit cards. If you don't pay your entire principle on a credit card by the deadline, the interest rates will eat you up. With regards to the US debt, sometimes a country will "write off" what we owe them as a favor or payback. For example, if we are in debt $50 billion to Japan, then Japan might forgive some or all of the debt if we help them fight off a foreign invader. So the US government can always negotiate with the debt when it comes to foreign countries. But not all of our debt is foreign...some of the debt is with companies in the US like contractors. The US government can refuse to pay these debts, but if it does so, our credit rating goes down, which weakens the dollar significantly. If the dollar becomes too weak, then other countries will not use the dollar any more as their main currency. The US has the unique position of having its currency dominate the world. But it has not always been like this. Before the 1900's, Britain's currency (the pound) was the worldwide currency. Britain's economy went south around 1950, and that's when the US dollar came to dominate the world currency market. It may not always be like this if the US dollar gets too weak. The country that has a worldwide currency holds significant economic power because that country can always print more money to pay its debts. But if a country prints too much money and floods the market, then that currency gets devalued and other countries/companies don't want that currency anymore...meaning a new currency would become worldwide dominant. If the US government can't resolve it's BORROWING problem, then one day the dollar will get so weak, our currency will no longer be worldwide dominant. The Chinese Yen or Euro could become worldwide dominant instead. If this were to happen, the US economy would be weakened as we would lose our bargaining power and could no longer print money to pay our debts (our money would be essentially worthless). No one really can tell at what point the dollar will become weak enough to lose our worldwide currency status. Democrats in general feel the US dollar is plenty strong and we can still borrow much more, while some Republicans and Tea Party members think the US dollar is weak and close to collapse. Whatever the case, it's always best for a country's government to balance its budget just like your checkbook. The debt ceiling issue only becomes a problem if the government continues to spend money. Here's another way to think of it. Let's say you owe $20,000 on a car and you don't have a job. Your parents decide to give you a $100 a month to help pay the car. Then you go out and buy another car for $30,000 and ask your parents for $500 a month instead. If your parents continue to give you money, you'll continue to go out and buy new stuff (for the sake of this example). So if your parents were to cut you off, it might be in your best interest because you would be compelled to stop spending. However, if you kept spending, you'd be in trouble no matter what. So if the Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling, that should compel the government to stop spending as much...at least that is the theory...because the government wouldn't be able to borrow as much. But if the government continues spending, we'll eventually be in trouble no matter what.

Well... All I know is that if the US goes bankrupt, China will be ****ed because all they have is dollars.

You better not take any of my costumers or we will have problems :bat:.

I'm going to take them all :y:

I am glad you wrote this article, so if no one minds...

The main problem is that raising the debt ceiling won't help at all. So Boehner (Speaker of the House) released a bill to cut debt. Unfortunately, Republicans argued over the bill in the beginning. More recently, they all agreed, but the democrats had created their own bill. So currently there is a stalement, and politicians not willing to bargain in the least, it means this could take a while.

Oh I believe so, this will take a while. And to not write my usual paragraphs I will sum it up to say this is a monthly process. Change might come, but now is not the time

Any questions about it now that we are a few more days into it, feel free to ask