Now that the debt ceiling has been raised, Congress has permission to spend more money than they actually have.

Although raising the debt ceiling was necessary to reopen the government,
Congress needs to start
looking at ways to slowly start finding solutions to its problems.

The national debt is
increasing and at faster speeds than ever. The current national debt is just above $17 trillion.

According to CBS News, in president Barack Obama’s first term, the national debt increaded by $4.9 trillion and since increaded by ore than $2 trillion in his second term which isn’t even over yet.

The debt problem needs to be solved, but Congress needs to start now.

Waiting until the next
deadline will only result in more chaos. By combing through spending, cutting waste and finding ways to save money, Congress could start a slow turn-around process that could possibly begin to lower our debt. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Congress is heading anywhere near that direction.

In fact, a New York Times article predicted the debt ceiling will be raised again in December when a new budget must be decided for the next decade.

The bill that brought the government back into operation was filled with deceitful legislation, and add-ons to a bill that generally fund projects or agencies unrelated to the actual purpose of the bill.

In the bill, $2.2 billion was given to a Kentucky river project that will help in the
production of a dam, according to CNN. This project shouldn’t have been paid by the federal government, but by the state.

This is just a minor example of ways the government needs to shape up its spending habits. Congress attempts to cut spending, but they are making the wrong cuts by tapping into what they call discretionary
spending, which consists of things like education and transportation. Instead, there should be more regulation on welfare, where Congress could possibly find saving
opportunities.

It’s getting out of hand. To ignore the debt problem is just stubborn, and as Congress begins to draft immigration reform bills and continue to debate over the initiation of Obamacare, the American economy is crippled and the national debt is skyrocketing.

Within the month and a half that Congress has to figure out a budget, they should be
finding ways that the debt ceiling could be lowered. It’s almost pointless to call it a ceiling if it’s constantly
readjusted to make room for the extra debt that the
government “needs.”

James Baker is a freshman majoring in political science and economics.