We shouldn't consider raising the debt limit

Dear Editor:

Just when you think Congressman Holden couldn't be any further out of touch with people of Schuylkill County, he stuns us yet again. Holden's latest stunner is that he agrees with Barack Obama that Uncle Sam's credit card limit should be increased beyond $14.3 trillion, and that wasteful spending shouldn't be decreased as a condition for increasing the credit card limit!

This is unbelievable. Every man, woman and child in Schuylkill County now bears a $43,000 share of national debt! According to the Government Accounting Office, Uncle Sam wastes $200 billion a year on duplicative government programs. The cost to service our debt also happens to be about $200 billion a year. We shouldn't even be considering raising the debt limit, let alone increasing it with "no strings attached", as Holden wants. If we cut the fat and waste, we can service our debt and pay our military and Medicare and Social Security obligations and still have enough to service our debt.

Congressman Holden says he is a conservative Democrat, which means he should be joining Republicans and truly conservative Democrats in support of a Balanced Budget Amendment to our Constitution. Nearly three-fourths of Americans support the Balanced Budget Amendment, why doesn't our supposedly conservative Congressman, Tim Holden? Why does Tim Holden keep siding with Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama?

Larry Padora

New Ringgold