Dear John,

You might have missed it, but President Biden just said something very important — and potentially very, very good.

For the first time ever, Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he is considering using his executive authority under the 14th Amendment to resolve the looming debt ceiling crisis without giving in to the draconian budget cuts demanded by Republicans.

This constitutional solution to the crisis was not even part of the public conversation before our editorials, videos, and social media posts helped push it into the public eye.

Let me back up and explain. The U.S. government is projected to go into default in just 21 days, and Republicans are refusing to raise the debt limit unless Democrats agree to trillions in cuts to food stamps, Medicaid, housing assistance, and other vital programs.

But the U.S. Constitution explicitly states that “The validity of the public debt of the United States … shall not be questioned,” meaning that President Biden can and must continue to cover the debts of the United States and prevent a default, regardless of what House Republicans do.

Now President Biden is signaling that he may be ready to call the Republicans’ bluff — and we need to make sure the public understands exactly what’s going on and why President Biden is right.

Will you make a donation to Inequality Media and help fund our urgent public education effort to explain the debt ceiling and stop the Republicans’ draconian budget demands?

The debt ceiling is a nonsensical law that allows Congress to block the federal government from covering debts it accrued as a result of spending by Congress itself. This isn’t about new spending. It’s about whether the U.S. government will pay bills it already owes.

Legal scholars have said for years that the debt ceiling is unconstitutional, and if the U.S. were actually to default on the debt, it would destroy millions of jobs and cause a massive economic recession.

Congress raised the debt ceiling three times under Donald Trump to make room for his tax cuts for the wealthy, but now they’re refusing to do so without extracting trillions of dollars in devastating cuts to food stamps, housing aid for homeless families, and other vital programs.

This hostage-taking will never stop unless the president stands up to the Republicans and uses his authority under the U.S. Constitution to pay America’s bills.

Unfortunately, the corporate media has historically done a terrible job of explaining this issue to the public, and this time has been no different. So it’s up to us to explain what’s really going on through our proven effective social media explainers and viral videos.

To run this effort at a large enough scale to win before we run out of time, we need supporters like you to chip in. Will you make a donation today?

Yes, I’ll donate to help get the truth out and stop the Republican from using the debt ceiling to extract devastating budget cuts.

Thanks for joining with us in the fight for truth,

Robert Reich
Inequality Media