By Perrin Clark ’15, Staff Writer

Capitol Hill has seen intriguing developments in the past month, as tempers have flared over the Nation’s debt ceiling. Now, what exactly is the debt ceiling? Well, in the simplest terms, Congress tells the treasury, an executive department of the federal government that prints money, how much money it can borrow. The debt ceiling only pertains to money that has been previously appropriated in the federal budget. Therefore, when the limit is reached, the treasury can no longer borrow money to pay for expenditures in the budget. Recently, Congress authorized the treasury to raise the debt ceiling by allowing it to continue to borrow money for another 13 months and then re-adjust the debt ceiling from the current level of 17.2 trillion dollars. Republicans tacitly agreed to this legislation, because they have often been seen as unwilling, uncompromising, stubborn, and dysfunctional. Republicans will go with the flow, because they know if they say no to the flow, their image will be further tarnished right before the 2014 mid-term elections. Indeed, the Republicans’ reputation is already tarnished as they were unrelenting in similar situations, such as the fiscal cliff crisis, and the government shutdown over implementing Obamacare.

We can all offer analysis on the significance of the Republicans’ reaction to the debt ceiling. However, in the long run, analysis in terms of Democrats vs. Republicans means nothing. Although the Republicans were  willing to be bipartisan in this case, the raising of the debt ceiling played out like the 2013 fiscal cliff crisis and 2011 debt ceiling crisis; two parties came to the table with differing opinions on how to handle our national debt, and the solution lets us continue our spending habits. In essence, they kicked the can further down the road. It seems increasingly doubtful that our leaders on Capitol Hill will present any rational, serious, and most importantly agreeable long-term solution to the problem of our mounting national debt.

This problem is a peculiar one, because there have been few political issues that affect every member of our generation in such a drastic way. However, most of us do not see the national debt as the predominant political issue of our time. When asked about the debt as affecting his future, Soven Bery ’15 responded, “I think its an important aspect for the government to monitor, but for my specific future? I highly doubt it. I’ll be more worried about college, getting a job, and starting a family, and I don’t think the national debt will hinder any of that. Not to say it isn’t important. It is, but I just don’t think it’ll impact my specific future in a great way.”

When asked about the issues most pertinent to him, Soven mentioned employment, education and healthcare. As important as these issues are, all are affected by our nations national debt. As of now, no tax increase nor spending cut would be big enough to ensure that our generation does not have to pay for the debt, whether it be through an increase of our future taxes or a shrinking of our future government.  Additionally, the inevitable tax hikes that we will have to pay will affect how we will be able to pay for healthcare and for education. Furthermore, the inevitable shrinking of the government will lead to cuts in jobs programs. Jordan Zucker ’16 agrees with this outlook: “the out of control spending is eventually going to lead to an extreme market collapse, as the value of the dollar will hit zero, and we won’t be able to repay the debt. With 17 trillion dollars and counting, it seems that nobody in the government is working towards finding a solution to the debt crisis. ” In short, our national debt will grow to become such a massive problem that it could lead to a general economic slump, which may have drastic implications for the issues that matter to Soven, Jordan, and the rest of the Newark Academy community. While nobody has a certain answer to the debt crisis, it is evident that it is in everyone’s best interest to acknowledge the severity of this problem and to begin talking about it. While Congress may not be ready to take action, it is important that students at Newark Academy stay informed, as this may soon become the problem of this generation.