Obama Will Cave In Before the Debt Ceiling Does...And You'll Like It

While Obama says no compromise can happen without tax hikes, don't hold him to that

Unemployment has been rising, as have been gas prices, and the biggest issue that is gripping our government today is whether or not to raise the debt ceiling. Most middle-of-the-road political Americans could care less about the debt ceiling; they’re more concerned with keeping a roof over their heads. On the other hand this debate has become a litmus test for the hard right and the far left to see which side will blink first.

Conservative Republicans and Tea Partiers are threatening to riot in Congress, and liberals are daring Obama to make another concession to the Republicans who always seem to steal his lunch money in these policy negotiations. Well, I will spoil the ending for you liberals waiting with baited breath: Obama is going to cave, and it’s all your fault.

By cave I mean Republicans want spending cuts without raising the taxes on the rich, and Obama will eventually allow that to happen despite his recent rhetoric that a compromise won’t happen without the tax hikes.

To fully understand why Obama is going to give in to the Republicans you have to understand how we got into this mess to begin with. The United States is an expensive country to run, and our bills keep going up with multiple wars and unreliable allies to pay off -- not to mention entitlements to seniors. 

In order to pay off our expenses every few years Congress has to approve a higher debt ceiling, similar to extending our credit card limit, in order for the nation to keep the eastern seaboard lights on. This was done seven times during the Bush Administration and generally is a rubber stamp issue in Congress. If we don’t pay, it’s not as if a million repo men from China are going to show up and take Chicago as collateral.

However, the United States would be tagged as a bad lending risk. It would ruin the nation’s credit rating and generally embarrass us across the globe. So with the stakes so high and the consequences so obvious where is the conflict?

The Republicans insist that the only way that they will increase the debt limit is if federal spending is cut by the amount that the limit is increased. So, if the debt limit goes up by $40 billion dollars then the federal government has to make $40 billion in cuts. Obama has argued that we’re operating on duct tape and fumes as it is and won’t agree to cut federal spending unless there are revenue increases, namely lifting tax cuts on rich people, and eliminating loopholes for big corporations.