Raising the debt limit

Today Paul Krugman wrote a column commenting on former Senator Alan Simpson's comment that there will be blood in the streets next April when the federal debt limit will have to be raised again. Simpson, the co chair of the President's deficit commission, seems to believe that the Republicans will make a fuss over raising the debt, even threatening to shut down the government without concessions from Obama.

My position is that whoever has the majority in the House should be able to do what it wants. My hope is that when the Republicans get to that point in April, they will be responsible and do the right thing. If they are completely irresponsible and bring down the government, though, to me this is because with our present government structure they are allowed to be irresponsible, relying on the rest of the government to correct their childishness. If the majority in the House were clearly in charge, without the Senate and the President to correct their irresponsible behavior, they would not be so childish. It is not something inherent in the members of the House that makes them irresponsible: it is the way our government is set up. Our present structure encourages irresponsible behavior.

Of course I do not agree with the Republican programs, but they are in the majority, and should be able to realize their goals.