Debt Ceiling: GOP, Make Your #*¢%ing Ask, or STFU and Pass a Clean Extension!

The BBQ Pit
1

And memo to the White House, Congressional Dems, etc.: this should be your public position, too. It should be the first thing you say (in nicer language, of course) anytime anyone asks you about the debt ceiling.

And it should be practically the only thing you say, other than to add detail, like: "Our position is crystal clear: we want a clean extension of the debt ceiling, full stop. If the Republicans in Congress want something different, they need to specify what it is. They control the House of Representatives, and they can and should make their ask in the form of legislation that passes the House.

“While we are committed to not negotiating over the debt ceiling, we note that there’s no way we could possibly negotiate anyway, until the other side says what it wants. So the House of Representatives, and the Republicans who control it, must do their job.”

And of course, it would be nice if the President’s private position was that he was ready to mint the $1 trillion platinum coin, or start paying government contractors with IOUs not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, or any other technique that would effectively deprive the GOP of its hostage. Because without a hostage, there is no ransom.

2

The scrip idea seems like the best one yet, doesn’t it?

Unlike California, we have a central bank, too. So the Fed could issue face value cash for the scrip.

3

IANAL, but isn’t scrip a form of “debt” and perhaps subject to the ceiling?

Perhaps the scrip, instead of saying “I Owe You $100”, should say “We wanted to pay you $100 but the rat-fuckers in the GOP wouldn’t let us.”

4

I think the notion is that it would have no fixed maturity, would pay no interest, and therefore would not meet the definition of debt as used in the debt ceiling statute.
It is, instead, the recognition of a claim.

For example, let’s suppose a U.S. Attorney settles a civil case with someone hit by a mail truck in the period after the debt ceiling is reached. They might sign a settlement agreement saying that the person has the right to $10,000 from the U.S. government. I don’t think anyone thinks that would violate the debt ceiling, because it isn’t a debt instrument.