Can Americans Stand Tall with the Debt Ceiling So Low?

COMMENTARY | With only minutes to spare, the Republicans and Democrats have agreed to a debt package cutting more than $2 trillion in spending over the next decade. The Associated Press reports details about specific programs targeted in the deal have yet to be released, but the fact that the Treasury will be allowed to borrow until after the 2012 elections may be more important to Americans than the resolution of the debt crisis.

Did President Obama agree to a deal just to gain traction in the upcoming presidential race?

According to the official website for President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, "the President is focused on the job we elected him to do, he's counting on us -- so [he] can make further progress to put Americans back to work and create sustainable economic growth for the future."

But what does the future hold if every debate between Republicans and Democrats ends in a last-minute deal where both sides are left feeling shorted and the American people are given a band-aid to cover the arterial bleed known as the American economy?

Two steps forward, a long jump back

The debt package debate was eerily similar to the budget debate. In April, President Obama threatened to shut down government and "suspend military paychecks" to prevent cutting the American budget by a few billion bucks, according to Big Government. That debate kept the American people on the edges of their seats until the last minute when, suddenly, an agreement was met and cheers were heard on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

How can the president refuse to cut billions of dollars but later agree to cut trillions of dollars in the name of preserving financial security?

A deal is not the same as a solution

One resounding response to news of a deal preventing American default and potential subsequent worldwide recession/depression is anger. The American people are no longer willing to stand by and watch the reality show known as the American government with blinders and sound-deafening ear protection. People are listening to the promises made by elected leaders and taking names. Cutting $2.4 trillion from an economy already living on welfare, food stamps and unemployment checks is the straw bound to break the camel's back. America doesn't have $2.4 trillion to cut, but the American people know where to find the money.

A middle class American solution to recession, depression, debt crisis and economic failure

The time has come to take the proverbial checkbook out of the back pocket of elected officials and restore the rights to the American people. We elect men and women to represent our best interests in Congress, but the only interests our officials are representing are the ones that increase the numbers on their personal bank account statements. Our president hovers in mediocrity, torn between the promises he makes to American citizens and the reality that government is nothing more than a group of pickpockets taking small bits and pieces from what was once called the American Dream.