But is this really true, or is it a scare story to spur Congress into taking action to raise the national debt ceiling? President Bush, O'Neil, and others want to raise the amount government can borrow by $750 billion, increase the debt limit to $6.7 trillion from its present limit of $5.95 trillion.

Apparently, Congress does not have the votes to pass such legislation on its own. Dennis Hastert, the Speaker of the House, claims to be waiting for a popular bill to attach such legislation to as a rider. But the Treasury Secretary wants it sooner.

As you can plainly see, the honest investor "Debt Held by the Public" side of the national debt has been going down. Since the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, it has gone down $450 billion. This is what Bill Clinton and Al Gore meant when they bragged about how they were "paying down the national debt."

The annual interest due these investors was known and budgeted in this year's budget. Something like $207 billion should have been scheduled and set aside for this long ago. Shouldn't be a problem here.

What's more, maturing securities are replaced by fresh sales before investors even have time to cash their payoff checks. The Treasury holds 13 to 16 auctions per month primarily to hold the national debt precisely where it is. Shouldn't be a problem here either. (see: Mr. Van Zeck's "something for everyone" web page)

There certainly doesn't seem to be any reason to raise the debt limit because of this honest side of the debt, does there? In fact, we would have hit the debt ceiling long ago if this side had not been going down.

Unfortunately, most of the money the pirates use to pay down this honest side came from entitlements like Social Security surpluses. In 2000, some of it came from income tax surpluses, what Bush gave us back in part, but most of it came from the American worker's retirement and health care money, our payroll tax overpayments at work for things other than our golden years.

The Beltway Bandits steal this surplus money and spend it wherever they please. But when they do, they also like to pretend that they merely "borrowed" it. To carry out this pretense, they deposit "special obligation" nonmarketable Treasury bonds in the respective entitlement account, causing the national debt to go up. Bogus bonds that they've invented specifically for this pretense. Bonds not good for anything else. Bonds we could all do without.

To make matters even worse, they award annual interest to this dishonest side of the national debt. Interest that's paid without any cash whatsoever. They just hand the entitlement account more bogus bonds. If the government closed tomorrow, the national debt would continue to rise on these interest payments alone.

All by himself, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill told us, on June 19, 2001, that there were no positive assets in the Social Security Trust Fund. As he put it, he had "no money buried in his back yard" for Social Security to withdraw. (see: O'Neil Sings for the deaf and dumb)

Despite the fact that Mr. O'Neil manages all of the government's trust funds, and despite the fact that he's also one of the trustees of the Social Security trust, many spin doctors of the Mayberry press and the Democratic Cult refuse to believe this. They continue to talk about all the assets that Social Security holds in trust and how these funds will sustain the system until 2041.

There are 20 different entitlement accounts that make up 92 percent of this dishonest side of the debt that has gone up $844 billion in the last four fiscal years. Social Security just happens to be the largest, presently standing at $1.23 trillion in bogus notes. Bonds that the government likes to refer to as IOUs. But since they have no way to pay these off without using your money, are truly UOUs and amount to double taxation with compound interest added. The Pay-It-Again, Sam scam.

The natural reaction from any American worker who understood this should be: So, let the Treasurer take their own retirement money for a change. Let the pirates keep themselves out of default. Who cares if they lose their retirement money the way we've lost ours? Let them foot the bill for awhile.

But you know that isn't going to happen. Just as the Associated Press article goes on to tell us how the federal employees will get their retirement money back as soon as the debt ceiling is raised. Just like "non-essential" employees sent home during the 1995-96 shutdowns were paid their missing salaries once the limit was raised. Do you think we will we get our $1.23 trillion back somehow? Do you think they'll come up with it out of their own pockets?

While the never-ending war on terrorism is, according to President Bush himself, costing us a mere $12 billion a year, it seems Bubba has gone back to the ways of his father. We are again running up the honest "Debt Held by the Public" side of the debt, and not by small amounts either.

If the next six months follow the pattern, we are due for one of the largest deficits in history. In the $400 billion range.

The "entitlement" side of theft from Social Security and the like is right on track with its standing at the same time last year, and this despite much higher unemployment. Fewer workers kicking in surplus payroll taxes.

Ironically, the 1997 Balanced Budget Act picked the year 2002 for a truly balanced budget. You do remember all of the extensive arguments about whether it would take ten years, seven years, nine years or whatever to balance the budget don't you?

Actually, the year 2002 was picked because that was the time our swashbuckling pirates thought the booty from Social Security and other entitlements would provide them enough to never require borrowing honestly again. They could finally get rid of this pesty nuisance left by the Constitution. Annoying because it meant they had to budget to pay real money in interest every year.

President Bush the second may have taken several steps in this direction prematurely. He talked about setting up a trillion dollar "contingency" fund and he got rid of the long term 30 year Treasury bond. And Alan Greenspeak assured Bubba they could continue the debt laundering operation started by Clinton. A scheme where honest debt would be transferred entirely to the dishonest entitlement side and the pirates could save the real interest now paid in cash. A wonderful switcheroo of a dollar for six cents compounding.

The Mayberry press refers to these great savings as "you know, making the government stronger so it can tackle future obligations more better."

Let's all give a big cheer for raising the national debt ceiling, allowing theft to continue, and the New World Odor. If you can screw the American public, then you can screw the world.