As I am sure most Americans are like us, hearing all the debating and political talk about whether to raise our country's debt ceiling or not. Every time we turn on a television or read a newspaper there is a Democrat blaming a Republican and a Republican blaming a Democrat for not being able to come to a decision. Some want to raise the debt ceiling, others want to raise it but with conditions, while others do not want it raised at all. It's all a little confusing really.
Do know this. If our country fails to raise the debt ceiling it will have dire consequences on our American economy, as well as the economy worldwide. This will have undesirable affects on every family across America. If our government wishes to play political games and allow this great country to default we could experience a global depression that has never been seen before.
There is no denying that we need to address government spending and our lack of revenue issues. But to tie these very intricate issues to our debt ceiling is unnecessary. It should be noted that under President George W. Bush the debt ceiling was raised seven times and was never tied to government spending or revenue problems. Why can we not raise the debt ceiling and at the same time find solutions to the problems of government spending and creating more revenue. This country and its government is surely capable of multi tasking.
Now if an agreement is not reached by the end of the month our government will default on its previous obligations and there will be horrible consequences for everyone. What these politicians on T.V. and in the newspapers always fail to say is exactly how this will affect the American family. Hmm I wonder why? Well today we will tell you just a few ways the American family will be affected if this actually happens.
One of the first things the American family would notice is interest rates changing. The United States economy would slow down to a crawl, with the value of the dollar plummeting, and credit ratings going down the drain. Interest rates would skyrocket. New home loans, mortgages, credit cards, car loans, student loans, etc. would have a much greater chance of being rejected. The rates of those would go through the roof. The banks would be very unwilling to lend money with the possibility of not receiving payments being so high. It would result in higher payments and less actual money circulating. This would burden the already cash strapped family in need of credit and grind our economy down.
The next thing the American family may notice is government payments would virtually stop. Government payments and benefit checks would stop. Some military members and possibly those in combat would not receive payment. Social Security and pension recipients would no longer receive their checks. Government employees such as teachers, firefighter and police officers would not receive their salaries. Doctors that depend of Medicare reimbursements would no longer receive those either.
There would also be many closures if we were to default as a country. Government offices would close and the employees would be furloughed or laid off. Food and weapon replenishment for our troops over seas would come to a stop due to these closures. Anyone seeking a passport, Social Security assistance, care at a Veterans Hospital or simply just using a a National Park would be unable to due to their closures.
There would be thousands of people laid off if there was a default. With the unemployment rate already high enough, the default would only make it worse. As businesses lose credit, they would be forced to cut back on payroll causing even more unemployment. Americans with no credit have no buying power and would have to cut back even more then they already have. This could possibly cause a double dip recession or even a full on depression.
How about American's pensions? It only took a stalemate in the talks to send the stock market into a crash. Should the country actually default, the stock market would face days that rival the dark days from 1987, 2001, 2008, or even 1929. Pensions for millions of Americans are tied into the stock market. Life times of work and savings could be lost in a matter of minutes. Pensions depend on a healthy stock market, if it crashes so will the pensions of millions of Americans.
These are just a few things that could happen if our government doesn't stop playing political games with our lively hoods at stake.
What do you think?
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