Bloomberg Criticizes Political Leaders for Debt Crisis

By Nia Cheney, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, July 26, 2011

With the pending national debt crisis looming state leaders are beginning to question the intentions of congress and national leaders. Mayor Michael Bloomberg criticized leaders Monday evening in Washington when he released a statement that echoed the feelings of many Americans.

In Mayor Bloomberg’s statement he expressed his concern about the two political parties’ inability to compromise. He said, “There are always competing ideas and interests: Between the Mayor and the City Council; between the City and State; between the houses of the State Legislature; between Republicans and Democrats; sometimes, between the Governor and me. But we’ve showed repeatedly that we can find ways to come together across political parties.”

He added, “That’s what we’re doing in New York. Unfortunately, we’re not seeing the same kind of responsible behavior in Washington.”

Condemning the situation that has been allowed to arise he said, “That the United States of America has come this close to defaulting on its debts – a failure that would have potentially disastrous economic consequences for us all, including New Yorkers – ought to be all the evidence anyone needs that there’s something profoundly wrong in Washington.”

The Mayor expressed concerns for both the Democrats and Republican plans but did not have any suggestions as to what specifically the President could do to speed up the process.

Both the president and the mayor agree that the country needs to pay its debts and that by not doing so, or prolonging the process of raising the nation’s debt ceiling, irreparable damage would be caused to the United States’ reputation and credit.

President Obama addressed the nation Monday evening, and he urged U.S. citizens to contact their members of congress in order to push for a compromise.

President Obama stated, “If you want a balanced approach to reducing the deficit, let your member of Congress know. If you believe we can solve this problem through compromise, send that message.”

If Congress fails to raise the debt limit by August 2, Americans could face rising interest rates and a declining dollar.

The United States credit rating of AAA will be significantly affected if the debt ceiling is not raised as America would default on its loans.

At present the stand-off between Republicans and Democrats shows no sign of ending, and an unprecedented financial crisis hangs in the balance.