When President Obama was sworn in, the debt ceiling was $11.315 trillion dollars.  As it passes in the Senate with the help of Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennett, the debt ceiling will be raised to $17.3 trillion dollars plus whatever the U.S. Treasury has to pay out over the next year.  With Obama having presided over five of the six largest deficits in U.S. history (with four of those over a trillion dollars), it’s easy to expect that $17.3 trillion to be quite larger next year.

In a state that believes strongly that government needs to live within its means, it is unconscionable that any representative, let alone the entire Democratic Congressional Caucus from Colorado should vote to increase it, while doing nothing to attack the fundamental problems that caused it.

We understand the debt ceiling is merely agreeing to pay the debt we already incurred, and to not do so is to create havoc for financial markets around the world.  Yet, dating back to the 1970s, it is because of these very immediate real-world consequences, that significant legislation has often been attached to any raising of the debt ceiling, as our Federal government seems to fail to take action unless there is a crisis.

When there are so many pressing issues our country faces, it’s shameful that this opportunity to force all parties to the table was missed.  Thankfully, Colorado has at least a handful of legislators willing to fix our country’s finances rather than pass the buck off to our children.  The entire Colorado Republican Congressional Caucus voted against raising the debt-ceiling with no strings attached.  Their frustration at our government’s inability to be fiscally responsible could be heard in the statement Representative Cory Gardner released:

“Our government has an obligation to pay its bills, but we cannot continue to add to our debt without reforms that rein in the root cause of it. This gross mismanagement of our nation’s finances has left Americans with a deep sense of anxiety over Washington’s ability to solve our debt crisis, and who can blame them?” [the Peak emphasis]

PeakNation™, it may be one thing for celebrities to fawn over their no-limit Black Card, but the federal government has clearly demonstrated that its Black Card needs to be revoked.