A large number of laws over our history have been repealed and/or defunded.
I agree (and thanks for the examples.)
My point was it's inaccurate to suggest (in the post I replied to) that the representatives' current actions are "
an effort *not to fund* a bill..." That statement is incorrect. It is a "
law already funded", NOT a "
bill that needs funding". That's what I was commenting on. Their efforts are - like you say - "to
DEfund" and/or repeal; to "REMOVE funding" from an "existing law".
Now there's no question that what the law-making branch of the government giveth it can taketh away. That wasn't something I was ever disputing. But in decency and in order, such measures (of repealing or defunding) are "ideally" [note I said "ideally", because I'm ALSO quite aware of the "reality" like in your last example] brought up for their *own* vote, and NOT earmarked as part of an ordinary budget bill that keeps the lights on, so to say...especially when (a) no moneys in that bill are going to fund the unwanted law and (b) we are trying to recover economically. When it comes around to providing additional funding for that law later on, THEN the legislative branch will have the power of the purse. "So what does this current strategy do *now*??" is my rhetorical question. The Law is STILL funded and in operation *now* independent of the shutdown.
This strategy makes sense to
no one on either side of the isle, except for a small faction of junior representatives who're forcing Boehner's hand.
Personally, I do not have a problem with the government ensuring healthcare is available to American citizens. The problem I have is with the skyrocketing federal deficit feeding an enormous national debt that is going to bring an economic Greek tragedy to the U.S. in the not too distant future.
When the U.S. can no longer borrow money to support it's massive deficit spending on credit, only two choices will remain: austerity in which social services and Obamacare is severely curtailed or print money and devalue the currency destroying everyone on a fixed pension and ushering in an era of spiraling inflation.
Of course, that's assuming trade, taxation, etc... remain the same. Any actual solution (e.g. a solution that really works in reality) would need to be comprehensive and done correctly. There appears to be no one left with the intelligence, much less the power, to accomplish that.
What we are going to experience, is a complete systemic breakdown. Until then, it's a get all you can from the government until it crashes situation. Get all you can yahshua while you can because she's going to crash and the handouts are going to end afterwards. The rioting won't change a thing because there's nothing left to beg, borrow, or steal just like happened to Greece.
Indeed the deficit is a tremendous problem. But this problem has been baked unto the system since the first dollar. Indeed the final act of this Greek tragedy was already written as soon as USA started (once again) borrowing money from a private bank [the 3rd incarnation of such a bank; two of which the USA has dispatched in history].
A government can't
borrow their currency -
AT INTEREST - and expect to (a) EVER pay it back or (b) keep debt from exploding exponentially. The math just doesn't work. There's never enough money to cover the interest. Let's say to start the economy, the gov't borrowed $1 billion dollars from the Federal Reserve (a *private* bank that's NOT part of the government, as I'm sure you know).
$1 Billion loan at 0.15 interest = Debt of $1.15 Billion & Currency of $1 Billion (economic circulation)...
When the loan becomes due the Gov't has two options:
A) Give all of the money back (as if this is even possible)
Consequence: There would be $0 (zero) money in circulation...and the Gov't would STILL be in Debt for $150Mil to the Fed Reserve
B) Take out a new loan to cover previous debt ($1.15 Bil)
Consequence:
$1.15 Billion loan at 0.15 interest (for instance) = Debt of $1.33 Billion & Currency of $1 Billion (economic circulation)...
And when this "principal & interest" matures, we take out another to cover the previous interest...and another....and another...
This is the process of "raising the debt ceiling". And if we stopped here that (hopefully) would be enough to show the problem we're actually in and why NO POLITICIAN will EVER solve the debt problem UNLESS they propose that USA actually follow the constitution and *coin its own money* instead of borrowing it from a private bank...AT INTEREST.
Because our currency is produced from debt (i.e. debt = money), debt will ALWAYS increase faster than the money supply...and if ever we paid back ALL of the money, there would be no more money in circulation and we would STILL have a lingering debt we owe as a country. The only thing we can do is keep borrowing to cover the previous obscene debt. This is why Bush's debt was bigger than Clinton's...this is why Obama's debt is bigger than Bush's...and this is why the next president's debt (if we ever get there) will be bigger than Obama's. Exponentially.
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Now my example didn't take into consideration what happens to the circulated money or what happens when creating investment products to be sold on the stock market. This is what happens:
$1 Billion (newly received from the *private* bank) is then distributed to regional branches of the SAME private bank, and then
loaned a second time - AT INTEREST - in the form of business payroll credit lines, credit cards, personal loans, car loans, mortgages, financing for purchase items, etc. at a "9-to-1" loan-to-reserve ratio (i.e. for every $1 a bank has in reserves it can loan out $9 non-existent dollars). For our example, let's say every dollar is loaned out at 15% (just to keep it simple).
In other words, $1 Billion circulated = Debt of $10.35 Billion & Currency of $9 Billion...
If we add this to the initial currency loan we have a total debt of...
Total Debt - $11.5 Billion
Money Supply - $10 Billion
...and this is just the first iteration!
- Businesses go into debt just to operate and increase prices to cover that expense & their profit...
- Individuals go into debt, purchasing items above their means to live the dream...
- Individuals then (as "the public") purchase stock in these SAME businesses for their *own* profit, demanding that those shares increase in value, forcing businesses to increase profit and/or lower costs (i.e. outsourcing, layoffs, additional payroll debt to hire more workers) or increasing prices even more.
Ergo, Greed (all around) = Inflation and Wage Stagnation as a natural consequence.
Taxes are the other side of this coin; money that goes to pay back the loan to this private bank. Debt EQUALS (our) Money. And the game becomes one of musical chairs; hording as many dollars as possible while sticking another entity with the debt before the music stops; and what better entities than the USA and it's citizens. There is NO possible way to pay off this money; EVERY dollar in a bank account or in a wallet is *owed* to a privately-held bank, AT INTEREST.
Usury Is why USA has such an enormous National Debt.
Usury will be the fall of this country economically.
Acts like Obamacare are drops in the bucket as compared to the REAL cause of the deficit and debt.
The money itself.
