"If you don't raise your debt ceiling, all you're saying is, 'We're going to be balancing our budget.' So if you put it in those terms, all these scary terms of, 'Oh my goodness, the world's going to end' — if we balance the budget, the world's going to end? Why don't we spend what comes in?"
-- Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told The New York Times.
It's not that simple. The debt ceiling is about paying for spending that was already approved by Congress. And to not raise it would require massive, abrupt spending cuts. Still confused? Learn more here.
