US crisis of irresponsibility – XIV Amendment solution?

Clock is ticking, counting out the last days of the era of the US superiority in the World.  What we have been witnessing in the recent weeks in the American political theater is nothing short of the PARTISAN FISCAL IRRESPONSIBILITY. 

America is in debt.  Most of the countries are.  This is nothing new, nor exceptional.  But when the publicly owned debt approaches the amount of the GDP – it puts us in the position not much better than the one of Portugal, Ireland, and Greece (with the newest shaky member – Cyprus).

All our Presidents so far have raised the “debt ceiling” repeatedly (president Reagan did it 18 times in his 8 years of presidency) without as much as a cry from the Congress.  Although the fact of increasing of the Government debt is not something we should be proud of, the obligations, which have been already approved must (I stress the word MUST) be honored and paid.  We can argue as long as the political climate allows, on the budget and the ways of reducing the crippling debt (43 cents of each Dollar spent are borrowed), but it shouldn’t have any bearing on fulfilling the obligations, to which we are already committed.

As President Obama said yesterday, “there are many ways of getting out of this crisis”, some might have breathed easier.  But until the actual, constructive plan for resolving this congressional impasse is approved by the politicians on both sides of the isle, we are getting dangerously closer to the World’s Financial Armageddon.

This crisis has been belittled by many who couldn’t understand it’s true gravity.  Some even came out with the “silver bullet” solution.  This mysterious “silver bullet” is supposed to be the “XIV Amendment to the US Constitution”. 

Let’s have a look at the document, in question:

Section 4:
“The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by the law, including debts incurred for payments of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. (…)

Section 5:
The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.”

This is the letter of the law.  Although is reassures the legality of the public financial obligations, it leaves the matter in the hands of the Congress. 

It would be completely unconstitutional (and thus open for any challenges in court) for the President to invoke the XIV Amendment and unilaterally raise the debt ceiling.  The matter has to go through its normal, congressional channels.

The impasse continues… Clock is ticking…

Let me end this short note paraphrasing the lyrics of the popular in the eighties song by Sting:
“I am sure the Republicans love their children too…”