[Dilbert San Diego]

Also in the Obama years, they said Obama could ignore the debt ceiling based in the 14th amendment. That amendment has language indicating that the government will pay all debts, or something along those lines. We never got to test out that theory, but at one time they said the 14th amendment would override any debt ceiling legislation.

[Olog-hai]

They're implying that the President is the entire government, through that “reasoning”. Section 4 clearly indicates that such debt must be “authorized by law”, not by executive diktat; Congress writes the laws.

The 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.

I wonder if Obama was expecting to “suppress insurection or rebellion”, given the hate he was stirring up. This clause, however, is interesting:

But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

It could be construed that the debt Obama and his friends in Congress incurred was “in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States”, in many respects. Hmm.