To the Editor:

Many Americans believe that refusing to raise the ceiling on the national debt is a common-sense way to economize. After all, it was Ronald Reagan who said,

“There are two ways to deal with your spendthrift son: you can lecture him about being more frugal, or you can just cut off his allowance.” There was no doubt which of the two ways Reagan recommended.

However, his analogy is not applicable in this debt-ceiling crisis. It’s not that we have to raise the debt-ceiling so we can increase spending. Instead, we must raise the debt-ceiling to pay for goods and services we’ve already bought. To shut down the government to stop payment now is tantamount to saying, “That was needless and excessive government spending, and we refuse to pay for it.” Just think of the effect this would have on our U.S. economy, our status in the world, not to mention our once impeccable credit rating.

A legislature that thinks itself authorized to shut down the government and stop payment for what has already been received, claiming it is saving the people’s money, does not qualify as being fiscally responsible or even traditionally conservative -- quite the opposite! This is not a legitimate way to reduce the national debt.

Taffy Wallace

Fayette MO