Must Do Something?

Just like President Obama, I'm losing sleep over the debt crisis.

Mine mostly comes from being irritated with people, like CommieTommie Harkin, who are urging Obama to use language in the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment as a basis for acting without Congress.

The 14th Amendment applies only to debt “authorized by law” and “Only Congress — not the president — makes law.”

CommieTommie, a lawyer, says a Supreme Court case in 1935, Perry versus the U.S., addressed the issue.

However, the Court’s opinion in this case reaffirms that only Congress can approve the issuance of new debt. “In authorizing the Congress to borrow money, the Constitution empowers the Congress to fix the amount to be borrowed and the terms of payment".

To sum it all up: As the 14^th Amendment states, debt must be “authorized by law.” As Article 1 states, only Congress can do that authorizing.

Harkin knows there would be fallout from such a move,“The tea party people would go kind of nuts, but that’s their stock and trade.”

Once again, St. Thomas of Equine Ass takes the high road and the scientific community is united in that fact.

CommieTommie, adding a constitutional crisis on top of our economic crisis would only make things worse.