I think I'm going to go on a spending spree till I hit my credit card limit. Then when the credit card company calls to tell me to stop spending or they'll cut me off, I'll explain to them that I need my debt limit raised so I can spend more. (why do they call it a credit limit? It's a debt limit)

The government has overextended itself. I dont care whose fault it is, they just need to stop the spending on crap they dont need and cut up the government credit cards so they can pay for the things that the government is obligated to pay for.

What's sad is that everyone's taxes will be going up to pay for everything. I know there's been talk of making the rich pay more. There's just not enough rich people to pay for the insane debt that our country spent itself into over the past several decades. Everyone's taxes will be going up. There isnt any way around that. (btw, I'm not rich. I'm poor. I do expect that I'll be getting taxed on money I dont have at some point in my life tho)

I think the debt has reached unmanageable levels. It's going to grow at an exponential rate until it reaches critical levels and the government/country self destructs. I think both political parties are to blame (see, I'm being bipartisan), and I dont think either side will be able to do anything to stop it. I think we're all pretty much screwed.

Erin, I make very little money but since I am considered a contract employee, I still have to file taxes. I pay employment taxes, my SS and Medicare taxes, and income taxes. When all is said and done, I pay over $600 a year in taxes and only make around $2,500 a year at most. However, with this little amount and still supporting DD19, I do qualify for EIC. Since I make so little, I don't have to pay my taxes quarterly. Some how, like you mentioned, I will end up having to pay more taxes and it may not be worth my while to work, in regards to taxes.

I agree with you, anyway we look at things we are pretty much screwed whether or not the debt ceiling is raised.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! Nuf said!!!

I wonder if the APR on credit cards will go up? I only have one credit card and my balance is very low.....only about $250. I wonder if I should hurry up and try to pay it off before all this "stuff" happens and the rates go up?

raising the debt ceiling should be a non issue. it is about money already owed. It has been done many times since WWI. I think it historically has gone back to the Civil War with Lincoln being the first president to raise the ceiling.

It is not about raising the ceiling in order to spend more.

The bigger problem is linking the debt ceiling to not raising taxes which act as the revenue to pay for what we have already borrowed.

Defaulting on debt will hurt economically.

Entitlements should not be linked because those "benefitting" from social security, medicare and medicaid all end up spending those payments, right? Do those using these entitlements save the money or spend it on necessities?

Debt ceiling issues should be separated from tax issues, IMHO. I think that is the problem with the current House of Representatives.

I have read some articles that have said yes it will go up as well as interest on loans, mortgages, etc. But, you may also be penalized for paying it off too quickly. That's been a trick of cc companies for a while now. Once you pay it off, they raise your APR, regardless of your credit rating and/or history with the cc company.

With the deadline fast approaching, I am starting to get a little nervous about this. I have been reading all different perspectives on this and am really unsure about what is going to happen. In addition, my Medicare premium is taken out of my SS check. Without that check, I can't afford my Medicare premium. Without Medicare, well, . . . need I say more.

What would happen if all of us on SS did not pay our premium? Would Medicare then fail?

My parents got their social security money yesterday or the day before. The checks are going out.

But those are still July checks, not August. It's the August checks (and possibly future ones) that are in question.

If no one gets a bill passed, or if they pass one and then decide to still not pay the American people what they were promised. That's when I think that the seniors and military veterans should all take a trip to Washington to visit our various "leaders" and (politely and calmly) ask each of them what they've been doing for the past several years while everything was getting so screwed up.

(not going to mention political parties here. Or at least try not to) There have been several missed chances by our government when they had deadlines to pass a budget, and nothing was done by anyone in either party. They let it go. Makes me think some of this problem could have been avoided if both parties had gotten together the last couple of times they were supposed to have the budget balanced or approved or whatever it was they were supposed to do with it.

Now it seems like everyone in Congress and the Senate are afraid to do something to fix this because they're so worried they'll lose their places as our legislators. We can always vote everyone out and start over fresh. Get some serious term limits. Then our "leaders" wouldnt have to worry about getting re-elected all the time and they could keep their attention on our government.