Displaying 0 To 0 Of 0 Comments The Debt Ceiling Crisis Thread Hang tough!! This too shall pass! http://make-everything-ok.com/ » Posted By funksands On July 25, 2011 @ 9:23 pm Boehner: I didn’t want “mano-a-mano” with Obama As House Speaker John Boehner left his ceremonial office building and was walking through the Speaker’s Lobby surrounded by his security detail, he expressed his frustration with the ongoing debt debate gridlock. CBS News’ Jill Jackson overhead the Speaker say: “I didn’t sign up for going mano-a-mano with the President of the United States.” His remark was dry in tone, and it was followed by silence as walked down the marble stairs and left the Capitol. Boehner is caught in the middle of a battle within his own party and with the opposition party, and he apparently didn’t expect being Speaker would lead to verbal combat with the president in prime time. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20083269-503544.html » Posted By funksands On July 25, 2011 @ 9:16 pm Oooh good take…. » Posted By funksands On July 25, 2011 @ 9:07 pm Patsy: Crated and stored in a warehouse outside Little Rock. Each crate says: Do Not Open Until 2012 » Posted By funksands On July 25, 2011 @ 9:07 pm Tex,did you know he is still alive and touring? Wow. » Posted By funksands On July 25, 2011 @ 8:05 pm Skype is working better than my cellphone to get thru to my Rep. His mailbox is full though, so I guess back to postcards… » Posted By funksands On July 25, 2011 @ 7:46 pm KQuarks chart in cartoon form: [img]http://obamadiary.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/republicans-in-congress-small.jpg?w=504&h=342[/img] » Posted By funksands On July 25, 2011 @ 7:40 pm 🙂 » Posted By funksands On July 25, 2011 @ 7:36 pm Howard Fineman made a good point on LOD’s show. If the President has thrown his weight behind a plan that doesn’t increase taxes, why didn’t he say so until the very end? » Posted By funksands On July 25, 2011 @ 7:35 pm Democrats Plan: Eliminate the deficit entirely by the end of Obama’s second term. How? They’ve already done it according to the CBO: If all of the Bush tax cuts expire The deficit disappearsÂ, by the end of Obama’s Read More… THESE THINGS ARE ALREADY ON THE BOOKS. LAW. Congress needs to do NOTHING to have this take place. Which of course is why the GOP needs to create a crisis. C’mon Congress, do nothing. We know you have it in you. http://wwwÂ.cbo.gov/dÂoc.cfm?indÂex=12212 » Posted By funksands On July 25, 2011 @ 7:31 pm Emerald, it is popular with the public. Always has been. This is one of those issues that sounds good in theory but not so much in practice. Voter support for a BBA has been very strong for quite a while. » Posted By funksands On July 25, 2011 @ 2:02 pm AdL: Here is an article that I found that continues the conversation you and I had a couple of days ago. Tell me what you think. “PRESIDENT OBAMA should announce that he will raise the debt ceiling unilaterally if he cannot reach a deal with Congress. Constitutionally, he would be on solid ground. Politically, he can’t lose. The public wants a deal. The threat to act unilaterally will only strengthen his bargaining power if Republicans don’t want to be frozen out; if they defy him, the public will throw their support to the president. Either way, Republicans look like the obstructionists and will pay a price. Where would Mr. Obama get his constitutional authority to raise the debt ceiling? Our argument is not based on some obscure provision of the 14th amendment, but on the necessities of state, and on the president’s role as the ultimate guardian of the constitutional order, charged with taking care that the laws be faithfully executed……” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/22/opinion/22posner.html?src=ISMR_HP_LO_MST_FB » Posted By funksands On July 24, 2011 @ 11:32 am Ad, I can’t find a whisper of this anywhere else. I’ve looked on at least 30 sites. This is either a super-scoop or total bs. One interesting thing, and important I think, is that it looks as if the term “Super Congress” is what the author is calling it, and not what his sources are calling it. Also, he refers to multiple media sources as the source for his story. I can’t find any. So wtf? » Posted By funksands On July 23, 2011 @ 11:47 pm I disagree. Now he may have to reference the 14th to give him the excuse (which he would not doubt do), but he can do all of those things. Let me see what I can find that supports this (if I can) » Posted By funksands On July 22, 2011 @ 5:21 pm Cher, you know what they hate even more? Weakness. » Posted By funksands On July 22, 2011 @ 5:14 pm His corporate masters are telling him to raise the debt ceiling His wealthy individual masters are telling him not to raise the debt ceiling The Tea Party is telling him to polish his resume if he agrees to anything with the Dems Cantor simply wants his job and is no help. His DT’s are telling him to have another glass of wine and pretend everything is okay. Obama is a tough spot too. The difference is that no matter what happens by Aug. 2nd he is still President. Boehner has no such job security. » Posted By funksands On July 22, 2011 @ 5:09 pm Ad, in a national emergency the President can pretty much do whatever the hell he wants. Default on the underpinnings of the world economy would certainly qualify. He can use his Executive power to order the Treasury to produce binding debt instruments that cover all of the U.S.’s obligations around the world. He can sell assets, furlough workers, freeze checks, etc. » Posted By funksands On July 22, 2011 @ 5:04 pm Ad, I’ve said it before, Boehner is in an impossible spot. He’s going to have to fall on his sword, or start handing out razor blades. He’s not up to it. » Posted By funksands On July 22, 2011 @ 4:56 pm Now that’s what I’m talking about. More Fred “The Hammer” Less: Fred “The Rogers”[img]http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/1/12780/879624-fred_williamson_3_tough_guys_01_super.jpg[/img][img]http://clarkbunch.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/mr-rogers.jpg[/img] » Posted By funksands On July 22, 2011 @ 3:57 pm Sure he can. He can create Obama bonds if he wants to pay the bills, he can sell Yosemite, he can hold a bake sale. There is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits him from ordering funds to be created/raised to pay for stuff. The real problem is whether or not bondholders or the market would consider these alternate forms of payment just as good as a Treasury Bill. » Posted By funksands On July 22, 2011 @ 3:48 pm KQ, if it isn’t going to change with another stimulus, then why not do one anyway? » Posted By funksands On July 22, 2011 @ 2:44 pm Ad, I don’t think so. I think that we are back to where I thought we’d be. Obama just tells the treasury to keep paying the bills. Congress harumphs, and everyone is secretly relieved. » Posted By funksands On July 22, 2011 @ 2:42 pm Cher, I’m with you. Somewhere a short while ago, an economist made a very persuasive argument. What we have seen for the last 40 years or so that is called “Keynesian” is in fact not so. The vast majority of stimulus injected into the economy has been in the form of tax deductions, tax credits, tax incentives, tax-write-offs and tax holidays. See: Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Research Cost Offsets, Home mortgage deduction, IRA deductions, etc etc. This tax-expenditure stimulus plans are inefficient, because while the govt. may authorize $1 of tax relief with a particular program, there is no certainty that this dollar will be spent, invested, saved, used to hire, or just stuck in a checking acct. These are easy to pass, popular with the public, but $1 in tax breaks will only result in cents of benefit to the overall economy. That’s why Bush’s first tax cut did indeed stimulate spending, and did indeed spur economic activity, but the effect was very mild and transitory. The better plan is eliminating the middle man of tax expenditures, and especially banks and give money directly to agencies, individuals, and businesses. Businesses can’t get business loans? Feds cut them a check. Bank can’t compete? Too bad. Think of the original GI Bill. Can you imagine if that had been laundered through the banking system? Think of the auto-manufacturer loans. All of the money came with strings, it had to be used for as specific purpose and had to be paid back at a reasonable interest rate. And that’s what happened. If you want Keynesian economics to work The money must be injected directly into the system, not washed through several layers of private and public agency filters. That’s why the last stimulus was so anemic. And especially why TARP didn’t fix what it was supposed to fix. The money was given to stabilize the banks, with the promise of repayment and promises of loans. The second part didn’t happen. We could have paid off every underwater mortgage in America directly, saved the homeowner and stabilized the underlying securities on the CMO’s and other derivative investments. But we didn’t and it got laundered, never to see the light of day until it was used to repurchase stock and pay dividends. So the point of this stem-winder is that you aren’t wrong about Keynesian economics. Its just what is being called Keynesian economics right now is an inaccurate label. » Posted By funksands On July 22, 2011 @ 2:06 pm The horse has left the barn on stimulus. It won’t get passed out of Congress. The time for massive stimulus is gone, and most states, thankfully have seen a steep spike in tax revenues and have dodged the bullet. The stimulus we need/can get right now are direct payments to builders of infrastructure. Eliminate the middle-man, stop dwelling in the land of tax expenditures and start putting money into the hands of people to build stuff. Frankly the concerns of these giant corporations, of which 45% of their earnings on average come from overseas are not of much concern to me. » Posted By funksands On July 22, 2011 @ 1:48 pm Interesting letter that I “found” somewhere: The President of the United States The White House Washington, DC 20500 Members of the United States Congress United States Capitol Washington, DC 20510 Dear Mr. President and Members of Congress, We believe it is vitally important for the US government to make good on its financial obligations and to put its fiscal house in order. With our nation on a sound fiscal footing, we are confident that America’s businesses and entrepreneurs will foster generations of high value, well paying jobs and contribute to a prosperous future. To this end, we believe now is the time for our political leaders to act. First, it is critical that the US government not default in any way on its fiscal obligations. A great nation – like a great company – has to be relied upon to pay its debts when they become due. This is a Main Street not Wall Street issue. Treasury securities influence the cost of financing not just for companies but more importantly for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and student debt. A default would risk both disarray in those markets and a host of unintended consequences. The debt ceiling trigger does offer a needed catalyst for serious negotiations on budget discipline but avoiding even a technical default is essential. This is a risk our country must not take. Second, our political leaders must agree to a plan to substantially reduce our long-term budget deficits with a goal of at least stabilizing our nation’s debt as a percentage of GDP – which will entail difficult choices. The resulting plan must be long-term, predictable and binding. As businesses make plans to invest and hire, we need confidence that, in the absence of a crisis, our government will not reverse course and return to large deficit spending. Sincerely, (It is a 14 page letter that is signed by the President and CEO’s of 390 different corporations, most of which are S&P-sized) I wonder if it will have any impact on the discussion? 🙂 » Posted By funksands On July 21, 2011 @ 11:44 am Okay, after reasonably thorough examination I think Simpson-Bowles is way better than the Gang of Six plan. Since neither plan has enough time to pass before the deadline, if a pivot afterward is decided on, SB is a much fairer option. I still don’t like it much, but at least it is a crap and cheese sandwich rather than crap without bread. » Posted By funksands On July 21, 2011 @ 10:29 am Hilarious. The bill that just passed the House has ZERO actual cuts to anything. It does have a couple of imaginary cuts that are pretty good though. Shameless and ridiculous. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.2560: » Posted By funksands On July 19, 2011 @ 9:14 pm Tea Party = Prohibitionists Different tune. Same band. Same sh**ty music foisted on the rest of America » Posted By funksands On July 19, 2011 @ 9:02 pm Khirad, Thomm Hartmann peeled this back on one of his shows. This particular amendment apparently was thrown in to deny Confederate military contractors payment for bills they were presenting the federal govt. after the war. Hartmann thinks the 14th is a pretty shaky argument. » Posted By funksands On July 15, 2011 @ 8:40 am Hi back Emerald. I think the typical American citizen doesn’t know what to believe anymore. For good reason. » Posted By funksands On July 15, 2011 @ 8:37 amComments Posted By funksands
AND the AFCA stays on the books
AND the Medicare cuts to hospitals and doctors finally are allowed to implement
Now is the time for our political leaders to put aside partisan differences and act in the nation’s best interests. We believe that our nation’s economic future is reliant upon their actions and urge them to reach an agreement. It is time to pull together rather than pull apart.
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