Congress has just passed legislation that lifted the nation”s debt ceiling and re-opened the government. No one, MSNBC, CNN, Fox or any of the other talking heads ever asked the question, “By how much will the debt ceiling be raised?” or “How much will the increase be?” Now that the deed is done, inquiries to John Garamendi”s office in Washington D.C. have revealed that the debt ceiling has not been raised at all, it has been ?removed” and will be re-addressed in February.
An article in the Washington Times, and referenced in the Drudge Report, shows that the nation”s debt increased by 328 billion the day after the Congressional agreement was signed. The article says this figure repaid expenditures by Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew that were re-directed from other funds from the time the government debt limit was reached until the passage of this stop gap measure. So, what was the purpose of the shutdown? Simply to humiliate the taxpayers or just another topic in which to re-direct public attention away from real issues?
Most people I talk to are numb to all the numbers, motives and possible results of skyrocketing national debt and how it may or may not affect the economy. But, “We the People” need to stand up, just as our forefathers did, object to all this rhetoric, name-calling and blaming and hold your Congressman accountable. They were elected to do a job and they are not performing. You are represented by either John Garamendi or Mike Thompson. Their contact information is readily available on the Internet. If you don”t like what they are doing, tell them, often. I know how frustrating that communication process is, really, I do, but, if you are meticulously persistent, believe me, it can pay off. Find your outrage and use it! Our only hope is for us all to become more aware, more educated and more involved voters. Otherwise, we will continue to have more of the same.
Jaxan Christensen
Upper Lake
