Between budget and debt

The federal government shutdown due to the lack of a budget deal is a serious problem for millions of Americans whose incomes and services are being impacted. This is very bad, but the worst is yet to come, unless Congress changes its strategy.

On October 17, the government must authorize an increase in the debt ceiling to be able to pay its creditors. The last time House Republicans used that opportunity to extract concessions from the White House, it hurt the credit rating of the U.S., costing money.

The budget and the debt are two processes that should not be resolved in an eleventh hour negotiation with blackmail that damages Americans and the national economy.

The budget authorizes spending, while raising the debt ceiling allows the government to pay for authorized expenses. The budget is the product of negotiations between the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House. In this case, Democrats control two of the three. Therefore, it is natural for their point of view to predominate. Voters decided this.

That is not how an influential group of the Republican caucus sees it. When they were unable to pass their agenda by negotiating bills, they decided to do it through extortion.

There is no other way to explain that the lower chamber finally decided to send its budget negotiators in, less than one hour before the government shutdown. They thought that by blackmailing the government with a shutdown, they could eliminate a law.

This strategy, applied to the debt, is even more far-fetched. It is as if individuals decided not to pay their debts until they cut their expenses, even if that destroys their credit history. The only one getting hurt is that person, in this case, the international credit rating of the U.S. and its global impact.

That is what will happen if the plans that the House become a reality. The authorization to raise the debt ceiling already has Christmas tree legislation and budget demands attached, which they were unable to pass with the regular procedure. This is not the way to get it done.

The government shutdown can be solved temporarily by extending government funding. The problem is that a few days later, the same hostage situation will be repeated, although with more serious repercussions.