http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43398670/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/
Why shouldn’t the GOP block a raise? The economy tanks even more, and they blame Obama.
Well, it would cause a huge disruption to the Earth’s economy and untold misery and destruction. That might be a reason. You know, if you’re not a bad person.
Should they? Obviously. Will they? Most likely, eventually.
The key for them is to get enough promised or real cuts to make it acceptable to their base. And the key for Obama is to make it clear that any fallout over failing to raise it is entirely their fault. And the key for the Dems in Congress is to realize that when you’re negotiating with someone that has already told you their final action, you don’t have to give in.
The GOP’s wet dream is to get Obama and the Democrats to agree to some type of Medicare cuts to help diffuse the self-imposed damage from the Ryan budget vote. I see no reason for the Democrats to give them this.
The Democrats’ wet dream is an agreement that includes the ~$1 trillion in cuts that Obama’s budget and the GOP budget have in common. This way they can vote for big, real cuts without having to cut Medicare or Social Security. Ultimately this seems the more likely outcome, with a few “painful” cuts (or promises of more cuts) added on.
I propose the following budget compromise. It is well know that in general red states get more from the Feds they pay in taxes, and blue states are the opposite. I propose that all states getting more than they pay get immediate cuts to put this in balance. We don’t give states getting less more money, since we do want to cut.
I’m not exactly sure what kind of cut this would be, but it would be fairly significant, and definitely help to balance the budget. And the states who think the fed are spending too much will get their wish, and also get to live with the consequences. Should be a win-win.
During the Great Depression unemployment rose to 25% of the population. Imagine that on a worldwide basis. Maybe worse. Everyone should vote to raise the debt limit and then get serious about connecting with the reality of what belt-tightening really means:
In Tennessee it looks like we are going to lose TennCare – at home support for the severly disabled. (On television they were showing a man who could move only his eyes to express “yes” and “no.”) Only his elderly mother would be left to take care of him. The state doesn’t spend a large amount of money for this service – ten million dollars a year.
Meanwhile this weekend, one of Marilyn Monroe’s dresses sold for over five million dollars. Something is terribly, terribly wrong in our country. We can say the Pledge of Allegiance, but what’s the point with an America like this? Liberty and justice for all? Honest?
Perhaps Liberty and Justice for those that can afford it?
What odds would you lay on them actually following through with serious belt-tightening rather than six months or a year from now wanting to raise the debt ceiling again? There doesn’t seem to have been much belt tightening the last ten times the debt ceiling was raised in the past decade (Bush raised it 7 times in eight years, and at the rate of wanting to raise it a 4th time in 2.5 years Obama is on track to surpass that) …why would this time be any different? I mean, I guess you could say that we’d be super-screwed if we keep spending rather than just being really screwed, but I don’t imagine it’s enough to curb the wanton spending.
They should just eliminate the debt ceiling
Indeed. The only reason we have a debt ceiling is because Congress passed the buck to the Treasury, making them responsible for funding legislation. If Congress just took responsibility for funding their own laws, not only would we not need a debt ceiling, but perhaps there would be a little more restraint on the purse. Win-win if you ask me.
Of course, financial responsibility is priority #500 for any Congressman, D, R, or I, regardless of their stated platform.
Or, we could do what adults do, and raise taxes to pay for the two wars we have been waging for ten years.
If the GOP does not raise the debt ceiling, they will suffer massive losses in the next election, because the direct result of not doing so will be financial chaos. And they will not be able to point to the Dems as sharing responsibility on this one: everybody knows the GOP is the party that is refusing to raise the debt ceiling.
However, the GOP is the Party of Dumb, so they might just do it anyway.
Since I’m not Michelle Obama, it fortunately won’t cause anyone to get the vapors when I say I’ve become increasingly less proud of our country over the past decade or so.
And the rich that support their campaigns would have the most exposure to said financial chaos. I don’t think the rich are be willing to sacrifice their own net worth for what amounts to a political stunt.
I believe there are elected members in the Batshit wing of the Republican Party that would sacrifice the support of rich mainstream donors to further enflame the great Batshit masses, which they see as the source of ultimate political power in America.