Republicans would be crazy to give Mr. Obama a blank check on the debt ceiling

The U.S. Senate hasn't passed a budget in four years, during which time our budget deficits have averaged $1.1 trillion a year. The national debt is $16 trillion and rising, and it is now more than 70 percent of GDP. Meanwhile, unfunded mandates for Social Security and Medicare exceed tens of trillions of dollars.

December 13, 2012