Barack Obama Playing Chicken With Reality

If the US defaults, Obama will be to blame

At a time when the United States is facing an economic crisis which continually threatens to deepen, one would think President Barack Obama would have better things to do than play chicken.

He doesn't.

The bigger problem is that Obama thinks he's playing chicken with his Republican political adversaries. He isn't. He's actually playing chicken with reality.

As the prospects of a debt default looms, Obama is demanding a permanent increase of the legislated debt ceiling. Republicans are prepared to extend a temporary increase to stave off a default in August, but Obama is unwilling to accept that as a compromise.

On top of demanding a permanent increase to the debt ceiling, Obama also wants to increase taxes.

Never before has the core of Obama's fiscal policies been so clearly on display: borrow, tax, and spend. And if the Republicans refuse to go along with it, precipitate an economic catastrophe and try to avoid the blame.

There is little question that Obama alone is not responsible for the debt the US currently risks default on. Republican and Democrat administrations alike have spent irresponsibly for decades, running up the US public debt.

But Obama is the one in charge right now. He's the one who inherited the responsibility of ensuring the US' finances are mattered responsibly. That puts the onus on him to figure out what eh problems are, and accept the solutions proposed by Congress.

Simply put, the problem is not that Congress won't allow him to borrow as much as he'd like to. The problem is the spending. It doesn't take a master economist to figure out that one cannot solve a debt problem by taking on more debt. Nor can one solve spending problems by milking the economy dry for additional revenue.

It's a basic and fundamental lesson being taught by reality right now: the United States cannot afford to continue spending the way it has been. Nor can it afford to follow the Obamacare path into permanent profilgacy.

What Obama hasn't realzied is that, in this game of chicken, Obama cannot possibly win. If the Republicans refuse to accept his "compromise", the US will default. If the Republicans accept his "compromise", the US will careen into fiscal oblivion.

Barack Obama must stop playing chicken with basic reality immediately, vainly hoping his opponents will blink. If he declines to do so and the US defaults, American citizens should impeach him immediately.