The problem with socialists, according to Margaret Thatcher, is that "they always run out of other people's money." We haven't hit that point just yet, but we have hit our nation's legal credit limit of $14.3 trillion. To avoid defaulting on our loans, policymakers must raise that limit.
Running away with the money

For many Americans, this is absurd and humiliating: The richest country in the history of the world is teetering on bankruptcy because our government can't stop itself from spending, like a loathsome celebrity blaming bad behavior on some dubious new addiction. No surprise, then, that more than 60 percent of Americans believe Congress should not raise the federal debt ceiling, according to a recent CBS News poll. This does not mean they want to see America default, of course. Rather, it indicates a strong popular will to see our government stop its ruinous spending.

Many politicians agree with this sentiment, but understand that refusing to raise the limit would create more problems than it would solve. So they look for other solutions, such as the Republican idea to tie support for an increase in the debt ceiling to equal decreases in public spending. As fair and prudent as this might sound, the president disagrees, insisting that we must raise taxes as well if he is to agree to any cuts. As he said in his remarks two weeks ago, "You can't reduce the deficit .  .  . without having some revenue in the mix." Technically, of course, you can reduce the deficit without raising taxes; he simply doesn't want to.