Feb 14 2013
US Government Debt Not Necessarily a Bad Thing
At various times I have ranted about the 14th Amendment. The history of the 14th Amendment had to do with whether or not the Union was going to pay its bills and whether they were going to pay the bills of the Confederacy. There was a big debate. But, nonetheless, its part of our Constitution now: “The validity of the public debt of the United States authorized by law including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrections or rebellions, (a.k.a. The Civil War), shall not be questioned.” And then, by the way, we’re not going to pay the debts of the damn Confederacy is the next sentence. “But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States or any claim for the loss of emancipation of any slave. But all such debts obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.”
So it really was about kicking the Southerners up side the head. But in the process what it did is put into the Constitution that the debt of the United States ‘shall not be questioned’, which is what the Republicans are doing. They’re messing with the full faith and credit of the United States. They are saying, ‘We got this debt ceiling that we passed way back in the nineteen teens to try and keep us from going into World War 1 and we never did anything with it but now we can use it as something to beat up the President.’ You’ve heard me rant about this for years. Well, particularly the last year or two that the Republicans have been making this stupid argument that the debt ceiling was something other than just an arbitrary made up manufactured number that Congress comes up with every year to say, ‘well let’s set that number’. I mean three chimps and a dartboard would do a better job. – Thom Hartmann
Listen to Thom’s interview with Economist Steve Keen about the United State Government’s debt.
Thom’s Guest: Steve Keen, Professor of Economics & Finance at the University of Western Sydney and author of Debunking Economics.
Take a look at Professor Keen’s website.
SONALI KOLHATKAR IS ON MATERNITY LEAVE.
One Response to “US Government Debt Not Necessarily a Bad Thing”
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