We the people have everything to gain and nothing to lose if the debt ceiling remains exactly where it is now, stuck at $5.95 trillion.

Let's get one thing straight right off the bat. The never-ending war is costing us very little compared to the retirement and health care funds we're losing elsewhere. The war against terrorism is costing us one billion per month, $12 billion a year. That's a drop in the bucket compared to the $98.7 billion in Social Security money we lost or the $160.7 billion stolen from all entitlements last year.

If the government can't borrow, they can't steal our payroll or any other entitlement taxes. It puts an absolute stop to their borrowing/stealing retirement and health care surpluses.

Don't get me wrong. They can still take the money and run, they can continue to steal it, but they can't pretend to "borrow it" any longer. Their scam comes unraveled.

Without an increase to the debt ceiling, the pirates are left naked. Their scam will be out in the open. Lies about lock-boxes, trust funds, on-budget and off-budget money, and paying down the national debt will all become ridiculously obvious to everyone. Even the media might catch on.

Like a spoiled child, the brats of politics will yell and scream about it. The same sanctimonious senators investigating Enron for lesser offenses will become indignant and make all sorts of threats. The same lawmakers who are tightening bankruptcy laws will suddenly claim that the law doesn't apply to them. There will be a terrible commotion inside the Beltway.

But the best thing about it is that it requires no action at all, at least nothing on the part of politicians who are very good at doing nothing to help the people. All they have to do is to forget about raising the ceiling. You might have to remind them to stick to their guns.

And don't think that it's going to change the bond market one iota. The crooks will try to convince you that private investors will refuse to loan the government money, but it simply isn't true unless those investors are just plain dumb and want to give up the "safest investment in the world." Safe only because it's backed by the "full faith and credit" of every taxpayer in the country.

The bond market will continue just as it has since the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. As Mr. Van Zeck, head of the Treasury's Bureau of Public Debt, tells us "the government is selling about $2 trillion a year" in Treasury bonds, bills, notes and other securities—just to maintain the debt level. Maturing at the rate of about $5 billion a day, 365 days of the year, the government is constantly paying off investors and issuing new securities just to keep things even—without raising the national debt. No new debt has been added from this honest borrowing since 1997.

The national debt has been going up all right. There has never been a single year when it didn't increase. Last year, it went up $133.5 billion. But all of that increase, every red cent of it, came from entitlement money stolen. Your Social Security, Medicare, and other surplus payments working against you.

Every time Congress and the Administration "borrow" extra/surplus entitlement payments, they feel compelled to put special obligation nonmarketable Treasury bonds in the respective trust fund. We need these bonds like we need another hole in the head, but they cause the national debt to rise.

Not only are your extra payments transformed into debt by trickery, the government compounds the crime by simply handing the trust more bogus bonds, no cash involved, and calling it annual interest. Even if they stopped stealing the money, the national debt would continue to rise because of this annual interest alone.

Not increasing the debt limit will play havoc with this criminal practice. At the very least, they may have to stop adding that debt-interest to our future taxes. That's all those bogus bonds are you know, demands on future income taxes. And the only purpose they serve is the convenience of allowing tax increases without politicians having to ask for it, without having to risk their re-election.

As soon as Congress returns from its week-long President's Day vacation, the commotion will start. Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill has already warned that the government will reach the national debt ceiling of $5.95 trillion by late March or early April of this year. He recommends raising the ceiling as soon as possible.

The Associated Press reports that republicans are seeking a $750 billion increase in government borrowing or a new ceiling of $6.7 trillion.

True to form, the democrats see this as an opportunity to blame republicans for fiscal irresponsibility and a possible campaign point during an election year. They are going to make a stink about it, proving once again that when the democrats attack they form a circle. We should encourage them. Get them to sponsor holding the debt ceiling where it is. They may not realize that they're shooting themselves in the foot.

Support the democrats and hope that they will bring borrowing to a standstill. Write them as well as the republicans and demand that the debt ceiling not be increased. It's a worthwhile and peaceful experiment. Who cares if "nonessential" government employees are sent on vacation again? The government will not shut down or go away.

Holding the debt ceiling where it is, at $5.95 trillion, does nothing more than force the government to live within its means. If $2 trillion a year isn't enough to run the government, then there's something seriously wrong and we need to rethink our entire political system. It may be time for another tea party folks.