Editor, News-Register:

Much has been written about the spending of the federal government during the last few weeks. The rallying cry of legislators against legislators is that if the United States doesn’t raise the debt ceiling, the amount the government is legally allowed to borrow, the government will not be able to pay its bills. In the last few days, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that if the debt ceiling isn’t raised by June 1, the government might not be able to pay its bills, thus causing a default.

Another way to pay its bills is to live within the amount available and to run the government without introducing and passing new, expensive legislation. Let’s consider how running our home or business compares to the federal government. Both our household and business budgets consist of long-term liabilities and short-term liabilities, or variable expenses. In the case of our households, long-term liabilities would include mortgages and car loans. Businesses have similar costs but also may have leases, warehouses, factories, and equipment. Our home loans and car payments must be paid as none of us can afford to lose either. Businesses have similar expenses to pay or suffer similar consequences. So, if expenses exceed income, households and businesses must look at variable expenses to cut, those costs of which they have control. A homeowner can lower the thermostat in the winter, try to drive less, eat out less often, and watch other expenses by doing with less. A business has all these options plus a few more.

They could reduce merchandise, discontinue product lines that do not produce good returns, sell property and equipment, and can layoff employees. The federal government can do the same.

In addition, it does not have to create new multi-billion-dollar programs and it doesn’t have to hire 87,000 new IRS employees!

Let’s look at federal income and monthly debt service, the amount the government pays on the federal debt, which is almost $32 trillion. Our government brings in about $450 billion per month in tax revenue. The monthly cost of its debt service, the amount it owes per month on it borrowing, is roughly $55 billion per month. So one can see, the government has more than enough to pay its debt and then cut its variable spending. It will only default if it chooses to do so.

But it gets even better! In an editorial in the Wall Street Journal on 2/20/23, entitled “Default on U.S. Debt is Impossible,” by David B. Rivkin, Jr. and Lee A. Casey, attorneys who practice appellate and constitutional law, point to Section 4 of the 14th Amendment. It says that the public debt should not be questioned, roughly meaning the government should not be making claims that it can’t pay its obligations, scaring the public, and which might result in making the cost of borrowing higher. But they don’t stop there, they discuss a couple of cases where the courts have confirmed that and even ruled that the debt service must be paid before all other expenses.

Those of us living in Ohio and West Virginia do our best to pay our bills, without having the ability or foolishness of increasing our borrowing every year or two. Tell our representatives and senators in Washington, we insist they do the same!

Stuart V. Pavilack

Wheeling