Posted on 07/13/2011 1:04:37 PM PDT by CNSNews
(CNSNews.com) - The United States cannot constitutionally default on its existing public debt even if the debt ceiling is not raised, constitutional scholar and attorney David Rivkin said during a Federalist Society news event. Instead, he said, the country should focus on the fiscal responsibility of new borrowing.
“The United States, to put it more clearly, is one of the few countries in the world that is technically incapable of defaulting on its public debts, so we cannot have a situation like in Greece or Portugal or Ireland, ” Rivkin, co-chairman of the Center for Law and Counterterrorism, said during a telephone conference call sponsored by the conservative legal group on July 7.
Section Four of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States says that “[t]he validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.”
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
They always forget the “authorized by law” part. If the debt is not authorized by law, that is we have more debt than the debt ceiling that the law established, that can be defaulted.
Since ‘Bammy’ was elected when did the Constitution mean anything?
Nor do we need to, there is enough money:
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/official-treasury-reports-coffers-full-e
What we need to do is cut spending.
What’s your personal opinion on this or are you the author?
I won’t hold my breath waiting for an answer after viewing your posting history.
Debt - that debt not authorized by law - is illegal. If you trace this buttwipe ‘scholar’ back to his roots, they’ll be tainted with the Democrat Feces Education Skidmark....
Which is why Zero actually has a point if he invokes the 14th amendment. Congress effectively already raised the “debt ceiling” when they approved the continuing resolution back in April.
It was authorized bylaw when the GOP caved and passed the continuing resolution back in April.
No, the two things are not the same. Appropriations and incurring debt are addressed as separate powers in the Constitution, although both powers are held by Congress exclusively. If Congress authorizes the Executive to spend up to $2T, but the IRS only receives $1.5T in taxes, then the Executive must go back to the Congress and ask for authority to borrow the additional $.5T. If they do not receive that authorization, they must reduce expenditures to fit within the revenues available.
Notice that these folks are saying the same thing, all the time: we must spend more.
No one is suggesting that the debt be questioned. They are only suggesting that payment be deferred. Perhaps English is not David Rivkin’s first language since he doesn’t understand this.
If his mortgage payment is due and he doesn’t have the money to pay it. He isn’t questioning the fact that it is due. He is simply not paying it.
Ok - so riddle me this:
If the government does not have the “cash on hand” to pay all current obligations, and cannot borrow more to pay those obligations... do they magically disappear or become invalid?
Of course not - that is as absurd as the statement by this “scholar” . This is somewhat akin to making a statement - “I’m not in default, because I said so.”
Whether there is enough “cash on hand” to pay current obligations or not is irrelevant in this particular case. The question is - can the US default. What is the definition of “default”?
The language in Amendment 14 is, like most of the rest of the US Constitution, unfortunately irrelevant and immaterial today.
And the Fed.gov can always PRINT free money. It does not have to actually BORROW it. Not good for the inflation rate, tho.
What the 14th Amendment appears to say, is that the public debt of the US must be paid, as a priority senior to all other obligations.
Put another way, the revenue of the US will be applied to the debt. Any money left over will go to legally-mandated appropriations like Social Security. Any money left over from that will be available to fund things like Defense, Education, etc.
The government can ignore (and often does) any part of the constitution it wants to. History proves this...
Thank you for making that more understandable. I only wish Congress would do that instead of participating in the political corruption and squandering the future away.
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