Postmortem on debt ceiling
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, far left, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, second from left, and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer. far right, listen as President Joe Biden speaks before a meeting to discuss the debt limit at the White House on May 9. Credit: AP/Evan Vucci
Once you get through all the smoke and mirrors of partisan politics, you can see that our government works as designed [“Senate approves debt ceiling package,” News, June 2].
The bipartisan debt ceiling bill proved that despite all the doomsday stories from the cable news pundits and the outrageous oratory from the fringe elements of both parties, compromise and consensus building get things done. It’s time to stop with the “sky is falling” and nasty personal rhetoric and come together as Americans. Kudos to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden for showing the world how American democracy works.
— Jim Kiernan, Holbrook
It is unconscionable that our elected officials played party politics with our financial future. This game of chicken to see who would fold first had left us in a chronic state of high anxiety over our country’s stability.
Many Americans worried if they would have enough money for food or their bills. What happened to concerns about our mental health?
Dragging this out and being reminded daily that our political teams cannot work together was nerve-racking. I find it ironic that the same elected officials who are supposedly concerned about the mental state of Americans drew out a reasonable agreement.
Politicians need to check their egos at the door. Enough grandstanding.
— Joan Dickinson, Lake Grove
Newsday’s editorial board loftily compliments our politicians (on both sides of the aisle) for keeping this country from default, at least for the next 18 months “Debt deal is a win for sanity,” Editorial, June 2].
But the national debt will assuredly continue to rise, with no end in sight, at least until a national bankruptcy.
The true crisis is that both political parties apparently have no interest in solving the problem. That would involve making hard choices and explaining the dilemma to Americans.
I don’t see how anyone, including those wearing rose-colored glasses, can take away any positives from the government’s irresponsible actions.
— Doug Heimowitz, Jericho
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