Dear John,

Right-wing extremists in Congress have been using the threat of government shutdown to force their spending cuts ever since Reagan vetoed an appropriations bill in 1981.

Since the modern GOP aim seems to be not to govern, but to create so much chaos that it’s impossible to govern, shutting down the government is in keeping with their short- and long-term goals.

Thanks to Republican inaction in approving the arbitrarily set “debt ceiling,” which has no basis in the actual debts Congress has incurred, the U.S. received its first credit rating downgrade in history in 2011.

Since then, various international agencies have downgraded the U.S. credit rating in 2012, 2013, 2020, and 2023.

Last year, the credit agency Fitch warned that a U.S. default on its debt would lead to downgrades on securities from the outstanding AAA to a D, and other treasury bills to a CCC or C.

Enough is enough. We can’t let the Republicans use governance by chaos to damage the U.S. financial reputation throughout the world any further, as we lurch irresponsibly from self-induced budget crisis to crisis.

Speak up! Let’s tell Congress to eliminate the debt ceiling and end government shutdowns once and for all.

The government shutdown was the accidental brainchild of President Carter’s Attorney General, Benjamin Civiletti, who unwittingly issued an opinion stating that when a budget bill was late, the government could not spend at previous levels funds that had not been appropriated by Congress.

It was this opinion that Reagan weaponized in 1981. Almost 40 years later, in 2019, Civiletti told the Washington Post he could never have imagined that shutdowns “would have lasted this long… and be used as a political gambit.”

Fortunately, there is a way to take this gambit off the table for good.

This could be accomplished by passing legislation that would eliminate the artificially created “debt ceiling” and provide that, in the event of Congress’ failure to come to agreement by the deadline, funding would continue at previously authorized levels.

If Congress fails to act, the result would not be dysfunctional paralysis, but rather the smooth continuation of existing functions until Congress deliberately changes course. In this way, policy would be determined through affirmative decisions made through the legislative process, not through the nihilistic refusal to carry through on basic government responsibilities.

Tell Congress to quit this ongoing demonstration of fiscal incompetence before an international audience, and end the threat of government shutdowns for good!

Thank you for protecting the good credit and fiscal well-being of the American people.

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action