Lady Liberty - Debt Whore?

Lady Liberty has become a debt whore at the hands of the US Congress and Executive branch.

(We all know what a crack whore is and does to get money for drugs...)

The problem with debt, like crack, gambling and heroin, is that its highly addictive.  Addictive to the point where the user will say and do anything in order to get funding for their next fix.  The US Congress, like the inexperienced parent who continually believes that the errant, drug addicted child, enables the child's addiction by continuing to fund that addiction - directly or indirectly - with more cash and credit.

Now over the years I have seen all sorts of problems with addiction - people addicted to gambling, to drugs, and all the rest.  And as any experienced counselor will tell you there is only one way that an addiction comes to an end.

And that's by the exercise of free will.

Not by the parent or spouse.

Not by friends and family.

But by the addictee.

Typically the addictee must end up "hitting bottom" - after robbing their friends and family of every penny they can get, after stealing from creditors, stores, and so on, after turning to whoring to fill the daily need for cash, after waking up in jail or worse - the addictee makes the free will choice to get help.

I've seen parents, who really do love their children, believe the same lies over and over again "Oh, yes, I've quit - my friend Johnny is quitting too and needs $50 to help is mom out."  Oh, little Sally is out of jail so I'll give her another car so she can go downtown to score some crack work.

I know of old people, hooked on dope (oxycontin, vicodin, etc.) by Medicaid "pain specialists", who end up in the rehab on methadone.

So today we have little Timmy Geithner out explaining how daddy congress is going to give poor Lady Liberty another $5,000 USD on her credit card.

But don't worry - he says - it won't be a problem because Lady Liberty promised she was done with her debt addiction - "of course" she will cut down on all those debts and stop borrowing 42% of her income each month. 

Of course, says the Congress and little Timmy, she can't get off the dope by the time the credit card hits it limit...  No, she's trying to hard for that...  She'll need a "parallel track" to address that addiction problem.  And, of course, that might run on a bit after we have to jack up the borrowing limit on the credit card.

Right.

Like the comedian Sam Kinison used to scream:

"Wake the F*** UP!!!!"  "ARE YOU STUPID!!!!!"

Lady Liberty is mainlining Chinese, Saudi and Japanese junk cash at the rate of $2 million or more per minute - that's about $3 billion a day (maybe our bonds really are junk bonds)...?

That's like a $300/day drug habit... where your salary is only about $150 a day and you borrow the other $150. 

Nice.

Of course that's only borrowing - at least as long as the credit cards hold up...  after that grandma's jewelry case is next...

Eventually the road runs out.

What I do not see anywhere is someone who suggests that cutting expenses back is the way to go.

Imagine - when your credit cards run out you just stop spending and cut your other expenses until you can borrow more.

In fact, both the White House and Congress do not even suggest stopping spending as a cure for defaulting on the debt.  (You see, this is like a heroin addict cutting off their use of heroin until next week when they get paid - ain't gonna happen).

SO how is this leadership of any kind on any front?

No, they are happy to see Lady Liberty out whoring for more cash.

(Burning cash at a few billion a day quickly turns anyone and anything into a $2 whore.)

Why?

Because they themselves are part of the addiction.

And we all know addicts are not going to straighten out until they hit bottom.