Obama Pushing for Spending Cuts While Pushing for Debt Ceiling Increase

As Obama talks about making cuts to the federal budget--small cuts, don't get excited yet--one has to wonder just how insincere Obama is about these cuts. At the same time Obama is talking about looking at all corners of government for cuts, he is expressing regret over a 2006 vote.

The White House said Monday that President Barack Obama regrets his vote as a senator in 2006 against raising the debt limit — the same kind of increase he's now pressuring Congress to approve.

Obama "thinks it was a mistake," presidential spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. "He realizes now that raising the debt ceiling is so important to the health of this economy and the global economy that it is not a vote that, even when you are protesting an administration's policies, you can play around with."

Gee, nearly $1 trillion in stimulus spending did little to improve the health of this economy, and with $5 a gallon gasoline coming quickly, any little bit of progress that may have been gained is quickly going to be reversed. All of this stimulus spending was made possible thanks to the Democrats raising the debt ceiling as Obama took office.

Rather than try to prevent another debt ceiling and live within the means of what the government takes in, they try to paint the economic apocalypse of what will happen if we don't raise the debt ceiling, which is where Obama has his regrets. Rather than pay off the debt we have, it's easier to raise the debt ceiling so we can continue to borrow to provide all the unconstitutional services the federal government now partakes in while financing interest payments on the debt, meaning more debt.

The country will reach its debt limit of $14.3 trillion by May 16. If Congress doesn't raise it by then or shortly thereafter, the government would not be able to make debt payments, leading to an unprecedented default of the national debt and driving up borrowing costs for the government, U.S. companies and consumers, the Treasury Department warns.

It's not hard to see why we are never going to escape this tragedy.