To the editor:

If anyone wonders what’s wrong with Washington, it is on full display this week regarding the debt ceiling, calling for slashing government spending but keeping the Bush tax cuts from 10 years ago, when Congress reduced the amount of incoming tax revenue from the wealthy and increased government spending.

Now, seemingly every four hours, political “hacks” walk out to the TV cameras accompanied by their “entourage” of solemn-faced unknowns, to inform us nothing new has happened and it’s the other side’s fault, a tactic employed by both President Obama and Congress as the deadline nears.

There is talk about cutting back on Social Security “entitlements.” I am on Social Security, and every paycheck I earned during 40 years of working, I paid a good chunk into Social Security as does every American drawing a paycheck. Social Security is not an entitlement! Social Security is a trust fund for American workers, not a congressional bank! Will this debt ceiling “problem” be resolved? Probably, but only hours before the deadline when something “miraculous” happens and the crisis is averted thanks to these brave, wise, compassionate representatives in Washington.

The last time the debt ceiling expired in the 1990s, the Republicans got the blame and most of them were summarily drummed out of Congress the next election. Remember, if nothing else, these folks in Congress are survivors, and their reptilian brains are primarily focused on and driven by surviving voters’ outrage (and getting re-elected!).