Reaching the Debt Ceiling

Here's how it was explained on Bill Bennett's show, as I understand it: there will be a debate on whether to raise the debt ceiling.  There is a difference between continuing to spend and raising the debt ceiling.  The government always has to borrow money to pay its current debts.  In the last Congress, the Democrats spent far, far beyond our means as a nation, so that spending greatly outpaced GDP. 

If we don't raise the debt ceiling, we will actually default on our current obligations to paying our citizens and other nations who hold our debt.  If we don't pay our debts, our word, our promises are worthless.  Interest rates on our debt will greatly rise, and our debt will no longer be the gold standard for investing among other nations.  There will be other consequences as well: some banks may go bankrupt, etc.

We should not keep accruing debt at the pace of the last Congress, but we should raise the debt ceiling.  It's not spending more money.  It's keeping us from defaulting on current obligations.