Our politicians: deaf, dumb, blind and spendthrift!

One would have thought that the overwhelming rejection of tax-and-spend politicians by American voters in the mid-term elections last year would have caused those they elected to listen to their wishes more carefully, lest they suffer the same fate themselves next time around. What's more, opinion polls continue to report the same views from the electorate.

Only 27 percent of likely voters favor raising the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, while 62 percent oppose it, according to an exclusive poll for The Hill.

The poll found solid opposition from Republicans and also from independent voters, who are critical to President Obama’s re-election in 2012.

Seventy-seven percent of likely GOP voters and 64 percent of independent voters said they don’t want the debt ceiling to be raised. Even among Democrats, more oppose raising the ceiling (46 percent) than support it (42 percent).

Winning the congressional vote to raise the debt ceiling is a crucial test for the president. House and Senate Republicans are using the vote, which must take place soon, in an effort to secure deep spending cuts from the White House.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and White House officials warn of dire consequences if the debt ceiling is not raised.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke also warned lawmakers last week not to use the vote as a bargaining chip, saying it would be "catastrophic" if the nation defaulted. But the poll, conducted by Pulse Opinion Research among 1,000 likely voters, suggests the administration’s message is not resonating beyond the Beltway.

There's more at the link.

Are our politicians and administrators listening? Not many of them, as you can see in the quoted passage - and in this report.

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner warned lawmakers ... that the national debt could hit the legal limit on borrowing as soon as March 31, and he urged quick action to avoid a government default that would spark "catastrophic economic consequences that would last for decades."

In a letter sent to every member of Congress, Geithner said the national debt stands at $13.95 trillion - $335 billion short of the limit on borrowing that Congress set last year. Unless Congress acts to raise the limit, the letter says, the United States will default on its debt, an unprecedented event that could destroy "millions of American jobs," cause interest rates to spike, damage the dollar, and halt payments to millions of Social Security recipients, veterans and active U.S. troops.

. . .

The letter comes one day after Republicans took control of the House, their membership reinforced with new lawmakers who have vowed to block further borrowing, a top priority of the conservative tea party movement. Newly elected House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) acknowledged Wednesday that default must be avoided, but he said Republicans would demand deep spending cuts and budget reforms in exchange for raising the limit on borrowing.

"The American people will not stand for such an increase unless it is accompanied by meaningful action by the president and Congress to cut spending and end the job-killing spending binge in Washington," Boehner said in a statement. "While America cannot default on its debt, we also cannot continue to borrow recklessly, dig ourselves deeper into this hole and mortgage the future of our children and grandchildren."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters that he views the debate over the debt limit as "an opportunity, actually, for us to come together and make some significant strides toward beginning to reduce our spending and debt."

. . .

Geithner's four-page letter - which warns that default would spur "catastrophic damage to the economy, potentially much more harmful than the effects of the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009" - comes as a growing number of GOP lawmakers are declaring their intention to vote against a higher debt limit. Some are campaigning against it. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has posted a petition on the Web site of her political action committee, encouraging voters to tell Congress that the "spending frenzy cannot continue. It's time to force our elected officials to stop spending cold turkey, and we can start by making sure they do not raise the debt ceiling."

. . .

The debt is an accumulation of obligations incurred over many years when the government ran budget deficits. "Even if Congress were immediately to adopt the deep cuts in discretionary spending of the magnitude suggested by some members of Congress . . . the need to increase the debt limit would be delayed by no more than two weeks," Geithner wrote.

Again, more at the link.

Just when are our administrators - and the Obama administration as a whole - going to listen? We can't spend any more money, because we don't have it. What they're spending right now is figures on paper, fiat currency printed by the Federal Reserve, not cash raised from taxpayers. We're already broke! And yet they want to go on raising the debt limit, time after time after time, without ever cutting back on our debt! Are they insane?

The debt ceiling has been increased time and time again, from an initial authorization of $49 billion in 1949, to last year's increase in the authorized ceiling to $14.294 trillion. It's never gone down. Never. Isn't it time it did? And if it absolutely must be raised once more, to avoid default, shouldn't it be accompanied by cuts in spending of - say - two to three times the amount by which it's raised?

If our politicians don't listen to us, and vote to increase it yet again without corresponding cuts in spending . . . come next election, kick out every one of the dumbasses who do so!

Peter