The funny-stupid bit is that Republicans discovered that this is a viable strategy and _therefore_ raise the debt as much as possible _so that_ when democrats try to do anything of long term value, they can scream about "the debt is too high!"
this is not funny or stupid, this is explicitly the strategy. Look at USPS, Medicare, Social Security. The point is to make elements of the social safety net and services unsustainable, so that they can be targets for cutting. The debt is the most effective tool in doing this, and Social Security is absolutely their target. They will do cuts long before they remove the tax cap.