They knew this was going to happen. They built in 'funding' for all their pet projects a long time back, into every bill (Obamacare being one of the largest) along the road since O took over. They have already pulled the funds and put them in back pockets.
All that is left that they really want to pay for is their salaries and I would cut those for every federal employee - EXCEPT the military - all congressional members and administration staff up to and including the President, to about 4 percent of what they are supposed to be according to their 'contracts' until they agree to cut back significantly NOW and dump whole departments, including Education and the EPA for starters. If whole departments have to close down as a result, so be it!
Debt payments and interest payments on the debt should have highest priority. Entitlements (hate that term but you know what I mean - SSI, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.) should have next dibs/priority for payment - but only from incoming funds - if there are none of those, they will have to be cut and reapportioned (but not cut out entirely - just lowered till we have more 'income', if that should ever happen).
We, the people, at least those of us paying attention, have not been 'had' per se - we could see what they were doing - but we have had to sit by helplessly since we not been given any tools, other than phone lines that are never answered and an election every few years, to do anything but watch this incredibly bad and devastating kabuki theatre being played out with our money and lives at the forefront, before us.
Even the Tea Party reps we sent up there this last time have been either conned or paid off somehow - they caved for reasons that otherwise are beyond my ken right now. It stinks.
So, if we cannot depend on ANY rep to stand by their own (and our) principles, what makes anyone think there will even be a next election? Yes, there will be a collapse - a deliberately planned and invoked one. These people have had (at least) 60 years to plan all this and they are not going to lose now - we are!
PS - a 'collapse' is not meant as a synonym for 'default'. We don't have to default to undergo the experience of a 'collapse'. At the government level, we could continue to pay our national debt/interest (with newly minted, inflationary money if there is no real revenue) and yet the majority of people at the local level could be jobless and destitute, the stock market can crash, housing could collapse (oh wait .. a lot of that is already happening), etc.
PPS - Herd Sniper (in response to your post below mine - don't want to start a new post way below yours) - I agree and understand. I knew what you meant. I believe I just said the same thing in my own way (and many more words).
