CNN's Ali Velshi struck back at talk radio host Rush Limbaugh on
Tuesday, lecturing him on the debt ceiling after Limbaugh had hit Velshi
as a "low-information reporter [1]."
Velshi maintained that the debt ceiling "had absolutely nothing to do
with spending control or debt control" as Limbaugh claimed, and added
that "Republicans seem to think the debt ceiling is a good tool to limit
how much the government spends."
[Video below. Audio here [2].]
"So, the debt ceiling law was established to give Treasury the
flexibility to borrow chunks of money without going to Congress to get
approval every time a law was passed. It had absolutely nothing to do
with spending control or debt control," Velshi lectured Limbaugh.
He concluded with a flourish:
"The current ceiling was officially hit on December 31st, but like last time, the U.S. Treasury is using extraordinary measures to get through until about mid- or late-February. Maybe even early March. If Congress doesn't act by then, the government may not be able to pay some of its bills. It's as simple as that. Rush, I hope you're taking notes."
Last Friday, Limbaugh took issue with Velshi's reporting on the debt
ceiling where he insisted "Republicans need to understand the difference
between the debt ceiling and debt."
"The debt ceiling is exactly what it says: At that level of debt when
you've reached the ceiling, you can't legally borrow any more money.
And, of course, that limits spending," Limbaugh had said.
"Think of the debt limit as your monthly credit card limit," Limbaugh
continued. "You can't go over it on your credit card. And the United
States government can't spend more than what its credit limit is or its
debt limit."
A transcript of the segment, which aired on January 8 on CNN Newsroom at 3:42 p.m. EST, is as follows:
ALI
VELSHI: Finally, right-wing radio personality Rush Limbaugh took a
swipe at me last week because he doesn't agree with my take on the debt
ceiling debate that's about to consume Washington and the country again.
He's accused me of being, quote, "a low-information reporter" because I
dared to say what the debt ceiling law isn't.
(Video Clip)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, radio show host: Think of the debt limit as your monthly
credit card limit. You can't go over it on your credit card and the
United States government can't spend more than what its credit limit is
or its debt limit. Now, Ali Velshi at CNN says that has no relation to
spending.
(Laughter)
(End Video Clip)
VELSHI: That's just the best part. He went on for about 11 minutes. But
let me explain again to Rush. Back in the old days, the U.S. had a
system where every time a bill involving money was passed, the Treasury
had to raise money for it by issuing bonds, since the U.S. has rarely
had a surplus.
So, the debt ceiling law was established to give Treasury the
flexibility to borrow chunks of money without going to Congress to get
approval every time a law was passed. It had absolutely nothing to do
with spending control or debt control. It was a technicality. Most
functioning countries don't have any such thing because they understand
that if the government spends the money it has to pay the bills. But
Republicans seem to think the debt ceiling is a good tool to limit how
much the government spends.
The current ceiling was officially hit on December 31st, but like last
time, the U.S. Treasury is using extraordinary measures to get through
until about mid- or late-February. Maybe even early March. If Congress
doesn't act by then, the government may not be able to pay some of its
bills. It's as simple as that. Rush, I hope you're taking notes.