Yippee! Pop the corks on the bottles of Champagne! Fire off firecrackers! The US financial house has had its (debt) ceiling raised! Now we can get back to spending as if there is no tomorrow!

Not so fast, my fellow citizens. This writer reluctantly concurs with the notion that the Debt ceiling raising is probably necessary, so as not to cause a greater catastrophe. Then  again, this writer is not an economist, so her opinion vis-à-vis raising the ceiling is not really to be trusted. She knows not of what she speaks, regarding financial matters or  structural matters. Does that mean that she shares at least this in common with about  90% or more of the politicians supposedly in charge? Could be. 

Homeowners out there can learn from this structural machination. Next time termites pay a visit to their houses, instead of calling an exterminator to rid the house of the termites, what should they do? Raise the ceiling! True, paying to raise the ceiling of the house, will cost more money  than paying the exterminator, but so what? Following the political debt ceiling raising  model, means never having to worry about reducing cost and saving money. In the US 21^st century model, thrift and practicality are outmoded financial notions.

The Chinese, the de facto owners of the US, are wasting no time in  scolding their recalcitrant spendthrift dependents. Mr. Guan Jianzhong summed up the state of the US currency as “gradually discarded by the world.” I wonder if his agency’s downgrading of the US currency spurred on S & P to do its own downgrading. According to Reuters, the official Xinhua news agency had some choice words for its debtor nation/debt addict including urging it to “cure its addiction to debts.” It was not finished. The summation is:

"The U.S. government has to come to terms with the painful fact that the good old days when it could just borrow its way out of messes of its own making are finally gone," Xinhua wrote.

Maybe China’s tongue lashing will be sufficient to persuade the US Federal Reserve to shut down the dollar printing press? Nah. That printing press could turn out to be the most productive instrument of the federal government. Print baby, print!

China had its say. What are domestic pundits writing? Mr. Val Denninger is not impressed with  the size or scope of the plan. Where the plan creators declare “cutting,” he sees spending, not cutting spending. I see the typical political bill, where it is all a matter of semantics. At least legislators got to read this bill before it was passed?  Mr. Denninger concluded:

“Now we find out if S&P has any balls.”

We have since found out that S&P has, and exercised those muscles!

As we travel along the opinion pathway, with a stop in jolly old England, the Daily Mail reported on the “furious reaction” faced by the president from his supporters, because “the middle classes would bear the brunt of the country’s massive debt.” The middle class, what is left of it, bearing the brunt, is old news. With some 47% of US residents not paying any taxes, the “rich” and the middle class (anyone making anything over two digits in income) will pay and pay. Being an “American” is not free, unless one was not born in America. No, this is not a “birther” reference.

One group that always pays, would be Veterans. Some Veteran groups were quite concerned after the intentional scare went out that elderly Americans and the Military could be the first casualties in “the War over the Debt Ceiling.” These Veteran Groups received White House reassurances that:

“If the trigger takes place, veterans benefits and compensation will be safe from across the board cuts,” said Joseph R. Chenelly, who represented the Disabled American Veterans at the meeting.

I hope that Mr. Chenelly received written assurances, and does not run into any trigger happy representatives of the debt ceiling dalliances. He probably should stay away from any assurances printed by the US Treasury!

With all of the angst and concern about ceilings and spending, one place where US money is apparently no problem, or in short supply is Afghanistan, where $70 billion has been “appropriated” for “security assistance and development projects.” The current Inspector General, who was overseeing, following the money, gave up the fight. He resigned.”Agencies have not instituted sufficient controls over U.S. funds, limiting their oversight”? When there are oceans of money flowing in, why should there be oversight? If the ocean dries up, don’t worry, that 53% of American residents still paying taxes, will keep the Treasury filled. If they keep losing their jobs, again no worries, the US Treasury will work that printing press overtime, if necessary!

Here come those triggers again. The compromise promised that the new gang of six or twelve, depending on what day it is, will pull the trigger if someone gets a hissy fit. Mea culpa. In my enthusiasm to report this, I used very colorful language. I should have written that the joint committee should be able to, in its informed judgment, exercise its right to shoot down, I mean prevent, certain financial activities from occurring. Darn, that was great political speak, in my humble opinion. Maybe I can get a staff job, where political aides think for their bosses.

In order to get a real handle on this debt ceiling business, the advice goddess was called upon. The goddess used the words of then Senator Barack to indict now President Barack? Senator Barack was eloquent in pointing out the “failure of leadership,” “the buck stops here,” and dumping that debt “on the backs of our children and grandchildren,” in voting against increasing the debt ceiling. What a difference less than half a decade makes.  Et tu, Mr. President, is that new debt, under your watch, going to reach beyond children and grandchildren to great, great, great grandchildren? Let me be clear, Mr. President. I mean no disrespect by questioning what some would describe as a gigantic flip flop.

The Post and E-mail announced a name change for the USA to the OSA , the Obama States of America. This article disdains the efforts of both major political parties regarding this debt ceiling Paso Doble. I am just wondering who was doing the leading in this particular dance. It does not matter though. The inhabitants of the USA or OSA, will inevitably be the ones to pay the piper.

Speaking of dances and pipers, the president’s 50^th birthday was described as a "massive campaign event." I am thinking that if I do the math, all of the money collected could make a dent in that debt, and prop up the structure to the point where the ceiling would not have had to be raised, and maybe a just a roomful of debt sealed off. But what do I know about finances and structures? All I know is that I look in my purse or checking account, and if either is not flush, I cannot spend. In any case, I hope that a good time was had by all, at that thousands of dollars bash. S&P was not invited but sent its birthday gift in the form of a monetary downgrade. Investors took this “partying” thing a step further and assisted the Dow Jones downward by over 600 points. However, those fickle partygoers on Wall Street have since put back on their party hats, and the Dow climbed back over 400 points. Yippee-ki-yah! Oops. Investors got spooked again. Today, the Dow Jones went down over 500 points.

My opinion of this financial Danse Macabre (Dance of Death) is that, of all of the various opinions and punditry, we had better pay attention to what China has to say. We all should know why. As we are in an attentive mood, we may also want to pay attention to the type of politicians we elect to represent us. “Shared sacrifice” does not mean that we sacrifice and the politicians do not share the wealth. We are on a path to be transformed into a nation of the serfs and the aristocracy.

Lastly, we may want to question our morality in saddling generations not yet born, with onerous debt. It is amoral and immoral, and we will pay. Payment could be as costly as the loss of the exceptional, unique USA. Yes, this is still the USA, not the OSA, and no need to turn off the lights. But, the spending party has to be over – or the Piper/China will collect.