More and more, people are worried about our rising public debt.  Last week, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) said that, if we do not bring down the public debt,  “We will have the riots in the streets, we will have the defaults, we will have all of those ugliness problems.” (Emphasis added.)

It is that “we will have defaults” phrase that raises red flags.  This could very will be a statement that violates the Constitution.  Unbeknown to most people, our right to free speech, secured by the First Amendment, is not absolute.  We all know that slander, libel, and shouting “fire” in a theater are not protected speech (unless there really is a fire).  But the truth is not an absolute defense.  This is the exception.

When constitutional amendments are passed, they supersede whatever the constitution said before that amendment.  The First Amendment says, “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech.”

However, the 14th Amendment overrides the First: “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law… shall not be questioned.”

It is time to repeal that bit of the 14th Amendment.