# Why does the U.S government refuse to pay its debts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 20, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992 "2013-07-20T00:41:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/81 "2013-07-25T07:17:41Z")
> [@IClaudius](#): > > The US is in no imminent danger of default and will remain a reserve international currency for the foreseeable future. The example of Greece is irrelevant. Detroit was once one of the largest and most profitable cities in the US. That was 50 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/82 "2013-07-25T12:28:38Z")
> [@Honesty](#): > > Thank you. This is precisely what I wanted to talk about, although I (clearly) didn’t do a good job of highlighting it. Why is there such resistance to higher revenues? Eric Cantor has said he won’t enter discussion if revenue is on the table. Wouldn’t you agree this kind of behavior will make it impossible to create a surplus to pay the debt in the future? Finally, wouldn’t you agree this will make it more likelier that our debts will not be paid by our generation, but by subsequent generations, because the current generation is too selfish to pay the bills they’ve racked up? > > - Honesty I am one of those handful of taxpayers who pays way more in taxes than I will ever get back, unless I manage to suck enough money out of medicare during my retirement years. Which I might, of course, if I ever get sick. Currently, most people get a good deal more back from the Feds than they pay in. So that’s one reason for resentment on the part of those folks expected to pay more taxes. After all, any suggestions that we “raise revenue” are suggestions that weigh most heavily as you go up the income chain. A second reason for resistance is the selfishness you mention. The tragedy of the commons ensures that we will all consume maximally under the assumption that our personal altruism will be lost in the narcissism of the majority, and therefore the only rational strategy is to maximize personal gain even if the broad public good is minimized. A third reason for resistance to “revenue generation” is a general perception that government is wasteful and self-serving, and the more centralized it is, the more wasteful and self-serving it is. I certainly hold to that. A fourth reason is the observation that higher revenues typically lead only to even higher spending. Over the long haul, we’ve increased total centralized revenue and increased total spending even more. But for me, the most significant reason is a belief that we have passed the tipping point. Enough of the public has latched on to fiscal irresponsibility that we will never vote in a balanced budget. We’ve collectively figured out we should all make hay while the sun shines, and it feels to the average man that borrowing from the future is kind of painless. We are living high on Other People’s money. I would vote for more taxes–even taxes that affect me as a high-earner most directly–only on condition that we first become fiscally responsible. That we pass an absolute requirement to spend only what we take in. Period. Budgets would be a percent of the net take, and not an absolute dollar amount, for example. For that last reason, I will personally vote against raising my taxes even a nickel. It’s wasted money. I’m hunkering down, and right now gold is starting to look better and better over the long term, which is kind of sad. A fairly worthless metal lusted after by the polloi will have more buying power than a fiat currency from the greatest power the world has ever seen. I give us 30 years, max, before we collapse economically. It’s gonna hurt. Bummer ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/83 "2013-07-25T12:36:56Z")
> [@IClaudius](#): > > Greece has no sovereign currency, which means it can’t escape the usual way through internal devaluation and it lacks the full levers of monetary policy. It also has many other endogenous problems, such as corruption, tax compliance and labour market rigidities that also don’t apply to the US. > > The US is in no imminent danger of default and will remain a reserve international currency for the foreseeable future. The example of Greece is irrelevant. We do have more options–and more borrowing power–than Greece. We won’t escape their fate, though. We’ll just be able to put it off longer. The past few years we’re borrowing an incredible percent of our annual budget, considering that it’s peacetime (by peacetime, I don’t mean hobby wars like Iraq and Afghanistan). The broad sentiment is to get personal gain but use other people’s taxes. That’s not going to turn out well for us anymore than it did for Greece. Want an index case? Check on Illinois’ underfunded pension problem, and how effectively they are managing to solve it. The idea fiscal irresponsibility only catches up with St Elsewhere is a bit naive. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/84 "2013-07-25T13:26:38Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Detroit was once one of the largest and most profitable cities in the US. That was 50 years ago. 50 years ago, Redwood City was a sleepy bedroom community that was so full of cheap land, that an entrepreneur bought up a bunch of land and opened a theme park full of giraffes, zebras, and even killer whales. And where is that park today? about 30 miles to the north, because Redwood City is now part of the heart of Silicon Valley, and Oracle has its world headquarters right where lions used to poop. [Paul Harvey]And now you know… the REST… of the story.[/PH] Are there other now-n-then anecdotes you’d like to trade? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/85 "2013-07-25T14:08:01Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > The past few years we’re borrowing an incredible percent of our annual budget, considering that it’s peacetime (by peacetime, I don’t mean hobby wars like Iraq and Afghanistan). A trillion here, a trillion there, pretty soon it’s real money. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/86 "2013-07-25T15:07:58Z")
I think the simplest answer is because it can. If there was an alternative – which US war machine makes sure does not happen – many would take it. I’m not fully convinced US really needs to be so flagrant about keeping its 1% in charge so forcefully but not knowing the thirst for power so strong leaves a simple man in a state of unbridled cognitive dissonance. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/87 "2013-07-25T15:38:19Z")
BTW - just read who’s Obama pick for next Fed Chair [laughable](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/24/larry-summers-fed-nomination_n_3647369.html?utm_hp_ref=canada&ir=Canada) ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/88 "2013-07-25T15:42:45Z")
To the OP: Would you accuse of someone who has a mortgage as _refusing_ to pay off his/her debts? To the actual issue: I don’t think it gets much more sensible than what **Chief Pendant** posted. ---
**Author:** ![Honesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f04885/32.png) [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/89 "2013-07-25T17:37:40Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > A third reason for resistance to “revenue generation” is a general perception that government is wasteful and self-serving, and the more centralized it is, the more wasteful and self-serving it is. I certainly hold to that. I find it fascinating, really, I do, that people think the government is wasteful and self-serving. What does the Postal Office get out Saturday delivery? What does the National Weather Service get out of flying airplanes into the eye of hurricanes? What does the USDA get out of regulating nutrition labels? I could go on and on. I sincerely believe that the people who decry about the waste of government are likely the ones using most rely on their services (e.g. “Keep your hands off my Medicare”). > [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > A fourth reason is the observation that higher revenues typically lead only to even higher spending. This is an interesting take, because I look at it the opposite way. Lower taxes lead to less revenues which leads to more debt. We should be honest with ourselves and admit that tax cuts do not spur economic growth. This is precisely the conundrum that occurred in the early 1990’s, **Chief Pedant,** where the massive tax cut of the 80’s failed to increase tax receipts as promised. > [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > But for me, the most significant reason is a belief that we have passed the tipping point. Enough of the public has latched on to fiscal irresponsibility that we will never vote in a balanced budget. We’ve collectively figured out we should all make hay while the sun shines, and it feels to the average man that borrowing from the future is kind of painless. We are living high on Other People’s money. I disagree on the balanced budget for the sake of a balanced budget. Balance the budget once we abolish the tax cuts of the 1980’s. > [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > I would vote for more taxes–even taxes that affect me as a high-earner most directly–only on condition that we first become fiscally responsible. That we pass an absolute requirement to spend only what we take in. Period. Budgets would be a percent of the net take, and not an absolute dollar amount, for example. The U.S has been - more or less - fiscally responsible since its founding. The fiscal irresponsibility started in the 1980’s, reversed slightly in the 1990’s, and is now in full-throttle. I’m also curious, do you know that if we had a balanced budget during World War I or II, the U.S would’ve collapsed? Debt isn’t a problem, it’s our profligate and unrestrained use of it that’s the problem. > [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > For that last reason, I will personally vote against raising my taxes even a nickel. It’s wasted money. In his farewell address, George Washington spoke against this kind of selfishness and how it’ll be the downfall of the Union. He’s right. The American people are too selfish, too self-absorbed, and too self-centered to have a country like this, and as you say below, “30 years max” and this country will “collapse economically”. We’re running a government on debt and are meddling militarily in other countries, two maxims that were stressed by the very 1st President of the United States. > [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > I give us 30 years, max, before we collapse economically. It’s gonna hurt. > > Bummer I agree, the U.S is fucked. This is due to us running a government on debt, cutting taxes, refusing to raise revenue, and believing the government is out to get them. All is not lost, however. In the future, there’ll be another financial crisis that’ll wake people up, but by then, most of the damage would’ve already been done, and there will be a lot more people than there is now. - Honesty ---
**Author:** ![Honesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f04885/32.png) [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/90 "2013-07-25T17:41:23Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > To the OP: Would you accuse of someone who has a mortgage as _refusing_ to pay off his/her debts? You should stop trying compare government budgets to household budgets. Debt is not a mortgage and there’s no way the government, nor the present population, can pay that back. It is something that has to be foisted upon future generations because you - and others - are too selfish and cowardly to pay the bills they racked up. - Honesty ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/91 "2013-07-25T18:45:07Z")
> [@Honesty](#): > > You should stop trying compare government budgets to household budgets. Debt is not a mortgage and there’s no way the government, nor the present population, can pay that back. It is something that has to be foisted upon future generations because you - and others - are too selfish and cowardly to pay the bills they racked up. > > - Honesty I can’t tell if this is a knee-jerk reaction any/all household analogies or if you honestly have an issue with what I wrote. The debt is not a mortgage how? The government took a loan out in the form of bonds which they promise to pay back later. It’s not the exact pay structure of a mortgage but it’s not completely out of hand. Just as nobody’s expecting the “present population” of someone with a mortgage to pay back the debt in full, nobody is expecting the “present population” of the US to pay the Debt back in full. The benefit of being a government is that you have a theoretically infinite lifetime. Us mere mortals have to settle for 15, 20, even 30 year mortgages but the government can keep borrowing well past that. You really lose me in the coward and selfish comment. The government has never… NEVER… not paid its debts. It’s not like the US debt is comprised of the government not paying construction crews to pave roads or skipping out on restaurant tabs. It’s entirely in the form of bonds and bills that have not matured. The second they mature, the US opens up its wallet and pays up. I fail to see the cowardice or selfishness there. What you’re actually mad at isn’t the debt. It’s the budget. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/92 "2013-07-25T19:15:02Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > BTW - just read who’s Obama pick for next Fed Chair > > [laughable](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/24/larry-summers-fed-nomination_n_3647369.html?utm_hp_ref=canada&ir=Canada) Summers is an idiot who couldn’t even manage Harvard endowment fun IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/93 "2013-07-25T19:54:19Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > uh huh. How’s that working for countries like Greece? Greece’s debt was denominated in EUROS. Greece did not have the power to devaluate the Euro, only Germany + France could do that. If we owed our debt in a currency we didn’t control–like, if we borrowed Euros, and promised to pay back out debts in Euros–would we be unable to pay back our debt by printing more Euros. Likewise, lots of smaller countries that have national debts don’t owe those debts in their national currency, they owe the debts in foreign currencies that they don’t control. They can’t inflate their way out of debt owed in dollars, because the US government decides how many dollars there should be, not Argentina. Today, in 2013, the United States has no problem finding people willing to buy US debt denominated in dollars that the United States controls. We can borrow for essentially 0% interest. Obviously this is unsustainable, but 0% interest is a pretty good deal. The notion that we owe all this money to China, and someday China is going to demand repayment, and we’ll be bankrupt, is nonsense. Our debt is not callable, it is denominated in dollars which we control, and while it is getting to be a large fraction of US GDP it is still a small fraction of US wealth. What will happen is that our economy will slow down, people will think US bonds are not such a good deal, and we won’t be able to take out 0% interest loans anymore. And then we’ll either have to raise taxes or cut spending or keep borrowing but pay more interest, which means our debt is riskier so people will demand even more interest, and eventually we can’t borrow money at any price. Then, since due to people like Chief Pedant we won’t be able to raise taxes, and due to people like Honesty we won’t be able to cut spending, we’ll just have to devalue our currency and pay our debts at face value with currency that can only buy a fraction of the value it had when the debt was issued. Note that devaluing the currency is extremely problematic, since it makes collecting taxes extremely difficult, pushes all sorts of economic activity off the books and into the grey market, and introduces radical uncertainty. But hey, anything’s better than raising taxes, am I right? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/94 "2013-07-25T21:12:05Z")
The answer to OP’s question is: _Because American voters are deliberately kept in a state of ignorance by right-wing propaganda machines_. Most Americans want a balanced budget and understand the need for taxes. Yet, due to an amazing level of ignorance many voters aren’t even sure which party is the party of “fiscal conservatism.” Case in point: > [@jtgain](#): > > Exactly. What did Bill Clinton do to fuel the dot com bubble that made the economy hum in the late 90s? He was just a lucky bastard. The internet came to life while he was President… Oh my. I’ve tried to squelch this confusion before. Please read my whole post, but here are some excerpts: > [@Which Party balanced the Budget in the 1990's?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-party-balanced-the-budget-in-the-1990s/531834/1): > > … Clinton’s 1993 budget cut spending by $250 billion, perhaps the largest spending cut in all of history… > The 1993 Budget led directly to one of the most prosperous periods in American history… > > Now who should get credit for the 1993 Budget? Let us review voting on the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Bill of 1993. > …_ **Not even one single Republican Congressman voted for this Budget** _. Republicans natter about spending cuts, but on the biggest cut ever, _every single Republican stood up and said “Nay”_. Of course they would: Raising taxes on the rich (to a level still less than they were under Reagan!) was “class warfare” and would doom America! :smack: > > It is said that this was the very first time in all of history that major legislation passed _without one single vote from the “opposition” party_. Republicans led by Newt Gingrich appeared on TV, predicted a recession, and declared that the Democrats must accept complete responsibility for the consequences of their Budget. As we now know this Budget was central in rejuvenating America’s economy; and America never came remotely close to recession throughout the entire Clinton double term. The Democrats should be proud to accept “complete responsibility” for this. > > The quotes I’ve found by professional economists all praise Clinton’s 1993 Budget: > > [ul][li]“liquidating the deficit ranks as one of the supreme budgetary accomplishments in American history.”[/li][li]“Without question, the 1993 Budget Reconciliation Bill has been remarkably successful in its goal of reducing the federal budget deficit.”[/ul][/li] Hope this helps. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/95 "2013-07-26T13:25:58Z")
The problem with perpetual debt is that is has to be serviced. Many hundreds of billions of dollars per year that come out of our pockets give us nothing. Absolutely nothing. No healthcare, national defense, prosecution of Texas, nothing at all. They are interest payments on shit that we’ve already spent. Now, if this was a one time thing, then that might be good and necessary. But we do it every year. Every year we take on more debt. Not in a world war, not after some catastrophe, but every single year in good times and bad, we spend more than we take in. We take on more debt that has to be serviced. That alone is a reason to pay down the debt. So that our grandkids can actually use their money on stuff that they want; not use their money to pay for stuff that we already spent. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/96 "2013-07-26T13:31:12Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Oh my. I’ve tried to squelch this confusion before. Please read my whole post, but here are some excerpts: > > Hope this helps. It doesn’t. Clinton’s 1993 budget decreased the deficit for a couple of years, but projected increasing and perpetual deficits into the future. The Republicans took over and asked for a balanced budget in 7 years. Clinton balked and proposed a balanced budget in 10 years. Two years later the budget was balanced. The lucky bastard Clinton was simply sitting in a chair when the most significant invention of the 20th century took off. Kudos to him for not forcefully hampering it, but he didn’t do anything that any other President or any other person in the world wouldn’t have done in his position. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/97 "2013-07-26T14:08:22Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > It doesn’t. The _largest package of spending cuts **ever** _ did little to reduce the deficit. Got it. The _only major tax increases since Reagan’s cuts_ did little to reduce the deficit. Got it. The Clinton boom was due almost entirely to the Internet. :smack: (I suppose next we’ll learn the Internet was invented by [del]Al Gore[/del] Karl Rove.) Got it. The theme of my post to which you responded was _Because American voters are deliberately kept in a state of ignorance by right-wing propaganda machines._ Claim confirmed. In spades. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/98 "2013-07-26T15:35:24Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > The _largest package of spending cuts **ever** _ did little to reduce the deficit. Got it. > > The _only major tax increases since Reagan’s cuts_ did little to reduce the deficit. Got it. > > The Clinton boom was due almost entirely to the Internet. :smack: (I suppose next we’ll learn the Internet was invented by [del]Al Gore[/del] Karl Rove.) Got it. > > The theme of my post to which you responded was > _Because American voters are deliberately kept in a state of ignorance by right-wing propaganda machines._ > > Claim confirmed. In spades. Thank you. Not propaganda, just facts. Clinton’s “cuts” were only defense spending which would naturally be cut due to the end of the cold war. Nothing on the domestic front. The GOP said a balanced budget in 7 years, Clinton said 10, but it was done in 2. Was that just because Clinton swung his dick around and made it happen? Of course it was the dot com boom! ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/99 "2013-07-26T16:05:29Z")
I still think it really might help clarify things if the Tea Partiers follow through and stop raising the debt ceiling. Then people will see the disparity between revenue and spending and, I hope, go for more revenue and big defence cuts. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992/100 "2013-07-26T16:44:45Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I still think it really might help clarify things if the Tea Partiers follow through and stop raising the debt ceiling. Then people will see the disparity between revenue and spending and, I hope, go for more revenue and big defence cuts. If the debt ceiling isn’t raised, then it will be pointless to raise taxes, what with tons of people losing their jobs when the economy crashes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-u-s-government-refuse-to-pay-its-debts/663992.md?page=6)