In your opinion, should the Debt Ceiling be raised?

We send money to every coutries we could lower that, We cut funding to all the different program, just a little, to help but no more raises for congress, no more czars, cost taxpayer more money.

I think the federal budget should be cut by at LEAST half!

It is way past time for the government to reduce its ridiculously unsustainable spending levels which take from producers either through taxes or by dilution of the value of money as the Federal Reserve prints it in unlimited quantities.

First thing, Obama do is cut down entitlements and spendings... Pratice what he did during senator, telling "NO" to Bush Adm.

Only if we can cut entitlements and future spending...

Legalize and tax marijuana....take all George Soros' money and put it against the debt....stop giving money to other countries that we don't have....seriously change welfare system....live within a balanced reasonable budget !!!

there has to come a point when you are told, NOPE sorry you have maxed your credit limit. learn to live within your means.

No I am not.

(1) when your house is receiving floods from a dirty river, it doesn't make sense to keep raising the roof
(2) nor does it make sense to give MORE alcohol to one dying of cirrhosis

In my opinion it should be eliminated. It does no good and harms the US.

pray tell, how would that be eliminated? you mean, lets just be a deadbeat, and not pay our debt? or what?

I mean that if congress passes a law it should be funded and the bills paid. The debt ceiling is a dumb idea that should be eliminated. If Congress doesn't want to spend money then it should not pass laws to do so.

we're broke....do you spend money you don't have?

no; but I think the government should be lowered..no aid to countries; no aid to turtle bridges; no aid to wind farms; no aid to illegals; no pensions to politicians; no free insurance; no free benefits...lot's of things to cut; ever notice how they threaten the weak and the sick and the elderly to get a point across?

Old Charlie would be prouid

now...there's a GREAT comment...makes much sense.

I hate it, and the spending has to stop, but the US can't default.

Do we really have a choice?

You tell me whether we have a choice or not. How long can this CHARADE continue? He will bury US

it has already burried us, our children,AND our grand children.! We are suffocating from it.

The burial process began long ago, Drue. It's just that more and more people now KNOW it.

We can't default. So what do we do? Spend less, right? Obama won't, neither will (a Hurricane Sandy relief package with $50+ BILLION in pork in it AFTER all the screaming and yelling about fiscal responsibility? Don't tell me there's one person in Congress who doesn't KNOW that "We the People" are sick of their antics).

Congress SHOULD take control because the Constitution gives it (specifically the House) responsibility for funding. But Congress is too busy with photo ops, vacations, boondoggles, and lobbyists to have much time left.

I undstand helping Hurrican sandy relief, But congress on either side should not add
anything else in the bill. It should be thinking of helping the people who need help
and not there personal agenda. But congress has always done this.

I agree, us.

I understand that lawmakers want and NEED to help their constituents. But imo certain kinds of bills should be exempt from self-serving add-ons. One of the easiest things I think would be for Congress to pass a law (or internal reg.) that no amendment will be allowed that doesn't have anything to do with the original purpose of the bill. And bills should be clearly and simply stated so there's no way to play silly buggers with that.

But Congress will never clean its house unless we force it to.

Democratics, and some republicans through they years have done this to our country. They spend so much on studies, that they could cut little of every program. Healthcare bill will hurt so many people, it was a lie, my daughter does not have healthcare and she could not even afford to pay for it.

yes the choice is simple. NO more money you learn to live within your means! I have to use a budget why cant the fn Great god Obama learn the same thing. I mean he went Harvard he should be dumb enough to understand bills and other BS crap like that

I agree 200%, Chris. But we can't default on our debt.

Kicking the can down the road sucks, but it's obvious to me (and I'm sure to you too) that NOBODY in Washington wants to take the responsibility to fix the mess. The U.S. is doomed, it's just a matter of how long it takes.

I try to vote for people I believe will do a good job, I'm sure you do too. And yet we have a city (DC) full of self-serving, greedy HOGS getting rich at our expense AND destroying our nation as well. Imo THAT should be a simple choice too -- get the hogs out! But they get reelected every time -- their constituents love them, they spend more money campaigning, whatever. They're still there. I truly don't get that, do you?

Ok so we cant default on our debt, when do you suggest we battle this? Our Ruler just allowed more spending on protecting our children. At some point we will have to face facts. The bank that owns your house is not going to let you live there for free forever. At some point they show up and say, "Pay or get the F out!" We need an executive order that turns to Obama and says, "create a budget NOW or you get the F out of office".

I don't know. But if fiscal responsibility is in Congress, then I think they have to start. NOT by giving themselves pay raises and threatening to cut Social Security but by REAL reform legislation. Cut overlapping offices/agencies. Lock lobbyists out and do their goddamned job. Cut welfare. Look at waste and overages and cut them. Cut their staff budgets.

We haven't had a budget for 3 years now -- and yet billions keep getting spent. Has the money been sitting in a vault somewhere waiting to be used? I sure wish I knew where that vault was.

We KNOW Obama won't, we KNOW he wants to spend more on social programs. Don't give it to him.

I agree we have to fix the mess. I agree we should have fixed it years ago. I agree we never should have let it happen in the first place. So what? It's here, we didn't, and I just don't think the way to do it is to destroy the nation's credit globally. There HAS to be another way. Btw, last summer I was with you: Stop it now before it gets worse, I said. I was convinced that default isn't the way to go. I don't pretend to have the answer, I'm just answering THIS question.

I don't think you and I disagree about the basics. I'm sick of the kick-the-can game. Last summer was the low watermark imo -- nobody did anything, which set the stage for continuing NOT to do anything but the minimum over and over until it's too late. Then they'll finger-point and say "YOU should have..."

we have to remember it was Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and the democratics, that push the bills through on there agenda. Healthcare bill no one read,
Nancy pelosi said we will find out what is in the bill after we passed it.

Imo that comment should have gotten her booted. I couldn't believe that SF reelected her. Obama shouldn't have signed the bill since he KNEW it hadn't been read.

But I don't see what that has to do with the debt ceiling.

Thanks for writing back, Yes, Obama should not signed it, but I believe that why he in there just sign everything and he does not care what happen to Americans. Remember he is back by some powerful people who are very wealthy. I believe there is a change going on, but it is out of our control.

Not on your life.

Borrowing money to operate this country is WRONG on so many levels that a book would be the result of writing down ALL of the reasons.

Let the cards fall where they may.

Raise it to 1,000,000,000,000,000 times more than the 1,000,000,000,000,000 it is now.
Make the limit infinity then print infinity dollars!!! we will all be rich.

LOL. How bout those Trillion Dollar coins ?!?!?!?

perfect!! give one to every person in the USA and the economy would be back on track!! LOL

Unless the debt ceiling is raised, to ratchet up the fear factor, Obama is now saying that Senior Citizens and Veterans will not be getting their monthly checks, instead of showing any interest of reducing the present debts. This President has never shown any interest other than raising the debt ceiling and blaming the Republican party in the process.

In my opinion, any surviving congressman who voted in favor of NAFTA, TARP, or any of the bailouts, should be publicly hacked to death with a machete.

The surviving politicians should be admonished to "try harder next time".

Stop blowing the taxpayers money! Foreign Aid, U.N.,financial support to illegal citizens, pull our military home for Iraq and Afganistan[see they hate us] just to name a few.