Reid is wrong legally, Constitutionally and very simply factually.
1. Only Congress can authorize NEW debt issues by tshe Federal Government - the treasury, Constitutionally MUST have CONGRESSIONAL authorization for them; the Executive can only carry them out, it cannot self-authorize them.
2. Raising the national debt “ceiling” IS a matter of CONGRESS authorizing the treasury to issue more debt than has already, previously been authorized. Raising the “national debt ceiling” IS the treasury issuing MORE debt, AS AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS, so that the total debt outstanding is increased.
3. NOT raising the “national debt ceiling”, in and of itself, CANNOT cause a failure of the federal government to honor the full faith and credit of the debt it already has.
4. Failure to honor the full faith and credit of any U.S. debt has nothing to do with the debt ceiling.
5. Failure to honor the full faith and credit of any U.S. debt can only occur when the treasury fails to make interest or principal (on maturity) payments on debt already issued. It has nothing to do with any new debt ceiling/limit. If principal is paid on an older debt issue, the sum of that debt issue becomes available for new debt - if needed - under any authorized debt limit.
6. Failure to honor the full faith and credit of any U.S. debt can only occur when (a) the treaury is told to pay other things and leave U.S. debt obligations that are due (any, some, all) unpaid or (b) all available revenue IS used to pay U.S. debt obligations that are due and it is not enough to pay for all U.S. debt obligations that are due.
7. Harry Reid knows that neither (a) or (b) above are in the cards. Monthly federal revenue is enough to pay current U.S. debt obligations coming due and pay for SOME other things, and Obama may be an ideologue and a Marxist political thug, but his treasury dept will pay the debt obligations.
8. The only thing in real jeopardy if the “national debt ceiling” is not raised IS NOT “the full faith and credit” of the United States. The only thing in real jeopardy is Obama’s spending on all sorts of other things BESIDES any interest and principle due on any part of the federal debts.
Harry Reid is a liar par excellance. He knows there is neither a Constitutional crisis or a “national debt ceiling crisis” or a crisis concerning the “full faith and credit” of the United States.
The only thing IN CRISIS, concerning the national debt ceiling, is the ability of Obama and Reid to continue spending our money as they have been. That’s the fact.