If President Biden invoked the 14th Amendment as the solution, the issue would be before the Supreme Court in about a week to 10 days. Economic uncertainty and turmoil would be rampant. The prospect of the Supreme Court deciding an essentially and fundamentally economic issue, skewed with partisan politics, should make us all cringe.
The Supreme Court does not decide policy/political questions. The Supreme Court adheres to the separation-of-powers doctrine that reserves economic and political decisions for the legislative and executive branches. And today, when public trust in the Supreme Court is at an all-time low, the Supreme Court is the last place where an economic decision affecting millions of people should be made.
Let the politicians in the executive and legislative branches haggle, posture, waffle and eventually resolve this issue. As ugly as it will be, this decision should be decided by exactly the people who are now working it out: staff negotiators and the political leaders in our nation.
Francis J. Gorman, Baltimore
Again, the United States is at crisis point brought on by the rampant dysfunction of the political system.
As Republicans and Democrats stand fast on their own positions regarding the debt ceiling and our nation’s commitment to pay bills due, one is left to wonder what is important to these individuals trusted with the job of guiding the nation into the future while simply ignoring the past. This is not a left-or-right issue; it is an issue of right or wrong.
As a senior, retired on a fixed income with numerous chronic health issues, I say let the default happen. My Medicare might stop. My Social Security might be interrupted. My Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits might be frozen, impeding my ability to eat. I might not be able to obtain the numerous prescription medications I need to maintain my health. These are the critical concerns.
Financial leaders and politicians predict doom. I am horrified, but I am also sick and tired of legislators who seem to be consistently unable to find a balance to do the nation’s business and perform the duties for which they are elected without stepping on anyone in the process. Any pain suffered by Americans because of the irresponsible partisan disaster imposed on the rest of us should be equally shared. Are members of Congress willing to share equitably in the pain and suffering if this predicted disaster becomes reality?
Anthony D. Roache, Reading, Pa.
To a sane person, the ongoing debt ceiling debate is ludicrous. Congress has passed a budget, the administration has already spent within the budget on credit, the bills are now due, and the Constitution says that the United States must pay its bills. Now House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is saying that unless President Biden cuts funding to the poor in future budgets, he is not going to allow paying the bills already due. How crazy does that sound?
The only appropriate response is to propose a more rational personal income tax burden distribution. The current rate on the highest bracket is 37 percent. In 1963 and earlier, it was 91 percent. Within the past century, the oligarchs have never had it as good as they have it now. They need to pay their debt to the society that has made their financial success possible.
