14th Amendment Question

[Anonymous]

Pardon my ignorance but can someone please explain?

How could the president invoke the 14th amenment to be able to raise the debt ceiling?

The 14th amendment says that the country must pay our exisiting debt, correct? But my understanding is that the debt ceiling needs to be raised to be able to pay for future debt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pardon my ignorance but can someone please explain?

How could the president invoke the 14th amenment to be able to raise the debt ceiling?

The 14th amendment says that the country must pay our exisiting debt, correct? But my understanding is that the debt ceiling needs to be raised to be able to pay for future debt.

To pay for existing debt, we need to borrow more.

[jsteele]

I believe that part of the "constitutional" solution is that Congress has previously authorized the expenditures for which we now have to pay. These are not newly-authorized expenditures. Imagine going to a restaurant with a group and planning to pay with your credit card. Everyone orders their meals, but at the end the group tells you that you are not allowed to use your card. They have eaten the food, but are now not allowing you to pay. Obama might argue that Congress implicitly raised the debt ceiling when they authorized and appropriated the expenditures.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:I believe that part of the "constitutional" solution is that Congress has previously authorized the expenditures for which we now have to pay. These are not newly-authorized expenditures. Imagine going to a restaurant with a group and planning to pay with your credit card. Everyone orders their meals, but at the end the group tells you that you are not allowed to use your card. They have eaten the food, but are now not allowing you to pay. Obama might argue that Congress implicitly raised the debt ceiling when they authorized and appropriated the expenditures.

JS for SCOTUS!

[Anonymous]

Obama, please do this. You will be destroyed and take the democrats with you. This is the GOP's answered prayer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Obama, please do this. You will be destroyed and take the democrats with you. This is the GOP's answered prayer.

I don't think he wants to do it, and it appears the more adult members of the GOP are not going to let their victories slide away because of tea party intransigence. But if it came down to it, I think he would have far more to lose by letting us default when he had a way to avoid it. I cannot imagine that anyone other than those who utterly hate him would fail to rally to a President fulfilling his pledge to preserve and protest the USA.

[Anonymous]

The platinum coin option is also fascinating, although it would cause almost as much havoc as actually defaulting.