Daily Herald opinion: Remove the debt ceiling: Repeated abuses show Congress must find a better way to fiscal discipline

We disagree with President Trump on many things, but we can find common ground on abolishing the debt ceiling.

We’ve called for an end to the debt ceiling multiple times, and we’re asking our representatives in Congress to take away a tool that they can’t stop abusing.

The debt ceiling, created during World War I in 1917, is a legal limit set by Congress on how much money the U.S. Treasury can borrow to meet its existing financial obligations.

In short, when Congress increases the debt ceiling, it’s voting to fund spending that it has already authorized.

For years, nobody paid much mind to the debt ceiling. Every time Congress passed a budget, the debt ceiling increased — common sense.

Common sense left the Capitol in 1995, and it shows no sign of returning.

In 1995, the request to increase the debt ceiling sparked debate over the size of the federal government, leading to two government shutdowns.

Hundreds of thousands of workers were furloughed during those shutdowns, resulting in missed paychecks.

Eventually, Congress increased the debt ceiling.

Multiple times since then, the same dangerous game of chicken has played out with the same result.

The debt ceiling increases, the party that forced the shutdown generally walks away without getting what it wanted. America avoids a catastrophic default, but there are plenty of costs to this pointless exercise.

Every time the government shuts down, working people miss out on paychecks. Many of these government employees are essential workers who have to show up to work but go unpaid during the shutdown. That’s real pain.

When employees are not essential and are simply furloughed, they suffer pain as well struggling to meet the demands of their bills. Moreover, the people who receive the services these employees provide must go without, and markets take a hit due to instability.

Our credit rating has been downgraded several times due to shutdowns, making it more expensive to borrow money. Money that the American taxpayer is on the hook for.

In July, Congress increased the debt limit by $5 trillion to approximately $41.1 trillion — that’s not a small number. The move should keep Congress from having to vote on the debt ceiling for a few years.

With that time, our lawmakers need to figure out a way to abolish the law and enact something that makes sense.

The federal deficit is a real issue. Both parties are to blame for where we’re at today.

Spending deserves questioning and debate before it happens, not after the fact.

There has to be a better way to enforce fiscal discipline. Please do what you're paid to do, Congress, and figure it out.