Joydeep Bhattacharya, professor, was quoted as a source in a Politifact Iowa fact check of Ashley Hinson R-Iowa claiming that raising the national debt ceiling would give Democrats a blank check book to spend.
"The notion that increasing or suspending the debt ceiling creates a "blank check" for spending is a common misconception, Iowa State University economics professor Joydeep Bhattacharya told Politifact Iowa.
"The debt ceiling is the limit on how much the U.S. government can spend before getting authorization to spend again. The government is borrowing in order to spend because the Department of Treasury isn’t raising enough in taxes," Bhattacharya said. "Raising the debt ceiling is an indication to countries and individuals the U.S. has borrowed from that the government intends to pay its debts back."
Bhattacharya said increasing the debt ceiling can’t be used for new spending.