The Big Lie

            I confess I was taken in like so many others by the dire warnings of the catastrophe a failure to raise the debt ceiling would cause. This failure, we were told, would make us default on our debt and damage our world standing.

            These warnings, it has now become clear, are a big lie.

            Let me put it as simply as possible: we don't have to raise the debt ceiling to prevent a default on our debt obligations. We all know that our government spends more than it takes in. True. But our cash flow is far greater than the interest on the debt. All we have to do is pay the interest on our debt first before the government overspends on everything else.

            How can anything be more simple than that?

            The beauty of this solution is that it would force the government to live within its means. All Congress has to do is refuse to raise the national debt ceiling. Then the government would have to make hard decisions on what to cut. Not next year, not in 2020. Now!

            The government would have no choice but to live with a balanced budget. Just like the rest of us.

            Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania first launched this idea in January and has now proposed legislation entitled "Full Faith and Credit Act" that would require the Treasury Department to deal with the debt first. Tim Geithner is screaming bloody murder, and Senate Democrats have sided with him, so the bill will not pass. But a similar bill has been introduced in the house by California Representative Tom McClintock and appears to have the backing of Tea Party supporters.

            The fight is on. Now that the lie has been exposed, we'll see who is really serious about controlling government spending.