Jonathan Bernstein thinks that Congress should raise the debt ceiling without conditions, warning that if it doesn’t, the economic consequences would be dire (“Commentary: Wall Street should tell Kevin McCarthy to extend debt limit,” April 20). On the contrary, constant deficits and ballooning national debt – another $1.4 trillion this year – are more serious threats, and the debt ceiling is the only thing keeping the country’s financial outlook from deteriorating further.

The “harsh demands” Bernstein refers to are Republican proposals to reduce the budget to the 2022 level and limit increases in discretionary spending to 1% annually over the next 10 years. Anyone who thinks that the Republican proposals are impossible hasn’t looked at the billions of dollars of non-essential spending in the budget.

The debt ceiling may be a crude budget tool, but advice to constantly raise it and worry about excessive spending later reflects a cavalier approach to budgeting, borrowing and our growing indebtedness that does not bode well for the country’s financial future.

Martin Jones
Freeport