Rand Paul: “Congress is once again engaging in fiscal irresponsibility and endangering the American economy by raising the debt…”

“Congress is once again engaging in fiscal irresponsibility and endangering the American economy by raising the debt ceiling, this time by $800 billion. One particularly troubling aspect of today's debate is how many Members who won their seats in part by pledging never to raise taxes will vote for this tax increase on future generations without so much as a second thought. The term ``national debt'' really is a misnomer. It is not the Nation's debt. Instead, it is the Federal Government's debt. The American people did not spend the money, but they will have to pay it back. Most Americans do not spend much time worrying about the national debt, which now totals more than $8 trillion. The number is so staggering that it hardly seems real, even when economists issue bleak warnings about how much every American owes--currently about $25,000. Of course, Congress never hands each taxpayer a bill for that amount. Instead, the Federal Government uses the people's hard-earned money to pay interest on this debt, which is like making minimum payments on a credit card. Notice that the principal never goes down. In fact, it is rising steadily. The problem is very simple: Congress almost always spends more each year than the IRS collects in revenues.”