Christmas Comes Early in Washington, D.C.

Last week, House Republicans and Democrats removed the limit on United States President Barack Obama’s maxed-out credit card—and the president could not be happier. “There’s no better Christmas present for the American people,” Obama said on November 2.

Of course the cost for that “present” will be tacked on the credit card and have to be paid back with interest. By removing the debt ceiling, Congress cleared the way for the federal debt to pass $20 trillion by the end of the president’s second term.

Think about this: On the same day President Obama said the new budget deal would be paid for in a “balanced” and “responsible” way, the federal debt jumped $339 billion—a third of a trillion dollars tacked on to the federal debt—in one day.

“We will be giving President Obama a free pass to borrow as much money as he can borrow in the last year of his office,” said Sen. Rand Paul. “No limit. No dollar limit. Here you go, President Obama. Spend what you want.”

And so the president has essentially been handed a blank check—which means that stealing from oncoming generations will carry on at unprecedented rates.

Back in 2008, then-Senator Obama made what was probably one of the strongest criticisms against his predecessor, George W. Bush. He accused the president of being “irresponsible” and “unpatriotic” for taking the United States from $5.7 trillion to $10.6 trillion in debt. This sitting president will double that figure by the end of next year.

The United States has only 4.4 percent of the world’s population, yet owes almost one third of all global debt. How much longer can the world’s biggest debtor nation project any kind of power that positively impacts this world? How much longer before our lenders, who have already stopped loaning the way they once did, come calling for their money, plus interest? How much longer before the dollar is no longer the world’s reserve currency?

The United States currently spends about $220 billion per year on interest. The Washington Times reports that payments on the national debt are expected to rise from around $220 billion to $755 billion in the next 10 years. It could be much worse than that if interest rates go up.

“Our country is broke,” Prof. Laurence Kotlikoff testified before the Senate Budget Committee in February this year. “It’s not broke in 75 years or 50 years or 25 years or 10 years. It’s broke today. Indeed, it may well be in worse fiscal shape than any developed country, including Greece.”

America, he said, is in worse financial shape than Detroit, Michigan, before it went broke. But instead of making painful sacrifices to fight for economic survival, most Americans seem interested in living it up—in raising the credit limit.

Psalm 37:21 says, “The wicked borrows, and cannot pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives” (Revised Standard Version). Human nature has given every possible explanation to excuse debt-laden living. But as far as God is concerned, the underlying cause of this curse is that we are living the way of get.

Washington gets an unlimited supply of credit so it can spend, spend, spend. Politicians promise unpaid-for benefits so they can get more votes. The average American gets all kinds of Christmas presents from the government.

And meanwhile, America mortgages away its future—piling on trillions of dollars of debt every single year.