Borrowing Our Way to a Better Tomorrow...

So here's a question for you: how many times will the Bush administration have to ask Congress to increase the government's debt ceiling? This week's action makes #3 so far, but the new limit of over $8 trillion will probably be reached in less than two years. So it will at least be four, and probably five times that Bush will have to ask for an increase in his credit limit.

WASHINGTON - Congress is ready to send President Bush an $800 billion debt limit increase, a testament to the massive federal deficits that have marked his administration.

With no alternative but an unprecedented federal default, the House planned to vote Thursday to boost the debt ceiling from its current $7.38 trillion level, following Senate passage Wednesday.

...Not a single Republican spoke during debate on the debt limit bill, reflecting how politically uncomfortable the measure is for them. That discomfort was highlighted when they refused to bring the bill to a vote before the elections.

Completion of the debt limit measure would raise the government's borrowing limit to $8.18 trillion. That is $2.23 trillion higher than when Bush became president in 2001, and more than eight times the debt President Reagan faced when he took office in 1981.

Kash