Idiots Who Can't Count

First, as a nation, we raise some money. You know: taxes.
Income taxes. Sales taxes. Taxes on shoes and new cars.
All those people we elected to Congress figured that out.

Then, we spend some money. You know, roads and Medicare.
Maybe a nice little war in the Middle East. Congress said
it would rather not pay cash for that, but it was a nice war.

Whoops! We spent more than we had, and we have a law
that says if you want to borrow the difference, you have to
raise the Debt Limit, which is how far you were in debt
the last time you figured out how we were doing.

"No!", Congress says, "We aren't in favor of being in debt.
We think it is crazy to raise the Debt Limit. People should not
spend more than they have. The nation has to learn austerity!"

The debt limit isn't the cause of anything. It is just the calculation
that we have already decided to raise a trillion dollars, and that
we have already approved the expenditure of a trillion-and-a-half.

"Nope!", our elected officials say, "Somebody around here has to
learn how to balance the budget! We will not raise the debt limit!"

Tim Pawlenty, for instance, who left Minnesota five or six
billion dollars in debt, says we should not raise the national debt limit.
No, Sir!, Tim says, We should not allow arithmetic to be taught!
We have to stand for something! Maybe imaginary numbers!
You know: the square root of minus how far we are in debt.

Raise some money. Spend more. Say the problem is arithmetic.

The real problem is that voters elect idiots who can't count.

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