Raising the debt limit is just common sense; we are told!  After all, Congress passed laws that established the debt, and now we have a moral obligation to pay that debt. That’s not difficult to understand, says the President. The inarticulate Republicans seem to be swayed by his illogical explanation.

No, Mr. President, a debt limit is a debt limit. It has intrinsic value. It had value when the President, as Senator, was voting against raising the debt limit. Nothing has changed.

There are many options to maintain our current level of debt. You could repeal or amend the legislation that the President claims he is  bound to support or you could sell assets, etc. But, you don’t have to exceed the current debt limit. That is a personal choice.

However, you do have a moral obligation to tell the whole truth. It is depressing to think about the number of people, who unwittingly, accepts the President’s sales pitch.

Generally speaking, the public at large, is well ahead of Congressional thinking.  The gap seems larger every year. However, when it comes to sneakiness and deceitfulness; you still got to give it to the politicians. The stage managers and legislative artists arranged to have spending items attached to the “cliff ” bill. These were “goodies” that had little possibility of passing  by themselves on their own merit. A sizable majority of both branches of Congress voted for the unsavory and polluted bill. The bill passed due to excessive pressure, maybe, from some unwitting and questionable sources. The passage is a testimony to the members toughness. Any bill of considerable importance, with national and even world implications, should be stand alone legislation or it should receive nay votes from everyone.

When decision time arrives next month and in March; look for the investor, again, to claim victory. We are money orientated.  Congress makes policy on the basis of what happens in the equity markets.  We make rush decisions and bad decisions, such as happened this week, from the fear of negative effect on the daily close of the equity markets, worldwide.  I doubt that any daily decision, regarding the economy, is as consequential as the investor class and politicians claim.

Doing business in the early morning hours tells you a lot.  The absence of a public debate tells you more. The lack of anything substantial is conclusive. Our political system is corrupted and dysfunctional.

Yet, the great irony is, we continue to return the same ones to serve; election cycle after election cycle. The voters say, with their votes, that their personal Representative or Senator is good and not like all the others that we give such low approval too. I have only one question; if your Representative is so good, then how effective is he or she ? If your Representative was effective, they would be indignant and the whole country would know it.