According to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the federal government will likely run out of money around October 18th. This is a prediction people have been making for a while.
As the United States debt has crawled higher, many have begun to wonder who will pay for it. Yellen may be correct if the United States does not take the proper precautions.
The only way Congress can somewhat solve this is to raise the debt ceiling. A debt ceiling is an upper limit set on the amount of money that a government may borrow. As recently as August 2021, the ceiling was raised to 28.5 trillion dollars.
Since the pandemic, a lot of people have been losing their jobs. This job loss has contributed to the loss of federal money. The thought of running out of money is scary. People enjoy stability whenever they can get it. Whatever form it may come in, stability keeps people happy. In that respect, what is the value in telling citizens about the debt?
It could be a method of scaring United States citizens with the thought of instability. Money brings us stability in our life, and when it is gone, there is a risk of losing everything. As citizens, we are put in a position of not being able to make a choice. Putting one’s trust in Congress can be a challenge, when you do not have confidence in the leadership of the country.
It feels like in the past the government would do something to scare its citizens, with our ex-president being given a platform to claim the election was stolen. What is so different about this time around? It is clear that our leadership uses their power and backs citizens into a corner. As we have long been on the outside looking in to the decision making in this country, it is hard to leave the fate of our country in their hands. People are telling others that we cannot do anything about it unless Congress decides to do their jobs, which is not the case.
If the predicaments prove to be accurate and Congress does nothing, what is next? We rely on money to get things done. If the federal government loses money, what is next for the CIA and FBI agents, the homeland security agents, and employees in NASA? Will they just get out of the job due to the lack of money in the federal government?
I implore you to call your representatives, protest for term limits, and most importantly, vote.
A lot of things could happen over the next few weeks. All we can do is keep faith in the Congress of doing the right thing and create change where we can.
