Last related: Slow Saturday Special: Democrats Duplicitous on Debt
"Voters flooding lawmakers with calls, e-mails" July 18, 2011|By Shannon McCaffrey, Associated
ATLANTA - In its simplest form, the debt ceiling fight crystallizes party orthodoxy: Republicans staking out a hard line against raising taxes, and Democrats standing firm against deep cuts to government services.
As they get out the hatchet.
President Obama supports a blend of spending cuts and tax increases, a position that has backing of 69 percent of Americans, according to a recent Gallup poll. And among those who are not wed to an entrenched party view, pragmatism seems to be gaining traction over ideology.
A poll from the Pew Research Center found that among independent voters, concern has shifted from fear that raising the debt ceiling would increase government spending to worry about the impact of the failure to raise the debt ceiling.
Two months ago, Pew found that independents, by 49 percent to 34 percent margin, were more concerned that raising the debt ceiling would lead to higher government spending, as opposed to chiefly fearing the harmful effects of keeping the ceiling unchanged. This month, independents split evenly on the question.
Translation: the agenda-pushing has worked, provided you believe an agenda-pushing polling organ. I think Pew stinks.
“It’s going to be calamitous if we don’t raise our debt ceiling,’’ worried Ralph Leezenbaum of Mount Kisco, N.Y.
Among some voters, there is suspicion that the talks in Washington are infused with the politics of the 2012 election....
Related:
"Beyond the immediate crisis, the fallout could have broader ramifications. During his 30-minute briefing, Obama showed the fiery passion that his liberal base often says he lacks. And Republicans have become more mobilized around criticizing Obama and accommodating the views of the Tea Party movement, which helped them gain control of the House in last year’s elections."
Suspicions confirmed.
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"It’s all debt, all the time in D.C." July 19, 2011|By Julie Pace, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - From the White House to Congress, the negotiations over raising the US debt limit have overshadowed or halted work on everything from job creation to the military conflict in Libya to education reform.
Yeah, how about PUTTING THE WARS ON HOLD for a WHILE!?
And the debt debate has hamstrung President Obama’s ability to hit the road to campaign and raise money for his reelection bid.
Awwwwwwww!
The frenetic pace of Washington often means what is news one day can fade to the background the next. Rarely does a singular issue consume so much of the oxygen for such a sustained period....
Unless its a distraction, diversion, and an agenda-pushing item like "Al-CIA-Duh" terrorists everywhere.
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"Late plan offers hope in debt battle; Obama endorses effort, calls for action to break impasse; deal would trim Social Security hikes, some tax deductions" July 20, 2011|By Matt Viser, Globe Staff
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators yesterday unveiled an ambitious deficit-reduction plan that calls for limiting Social Security increases and reducing mortgage and other cherished tax deductions, a last-minute development that quickly won praise from President Obama....
Btw, what does MONEY ALREADY PAID INTO a TRUST FUND have to do with DEFICIT SPENDING? Shouldn't that money BE THERE, and IF NOT WHO STOLE IT?
The plan rekindled hope that a substantial agreement on spending cuts could clear the way for a vote to lift the nation’s debt ceiling and allow the government to meet its obligations, from paying its creditors to ensuring that Social Security checks or service members’ paychecks are not delayed....
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"The president is hoping he and lawmakers can forge a centrist coalition to pass such a complex and historic deal, with provisions that include a reduction in cost-of-living hikes for Social Security recipients....
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And "raising the eligibility age of Medicare."
What does Democrat mean these days?
"Late flurry, new ire on a debt deal; Democrats say plan should add revenue" July 22, 2011|By Matt Viser, Globe Staff
WASHINGTON - President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner raced to nail down a last-minute deal yesterday that would deeply cut government programs and possibly restructure the nation’s tax code, but anxious Senate Democrats insisted any plan must contain some immediate revenue increases.
Where were you guys for two years when you had House majority and filibuster proof... sigh.
Details of a plan to cut roughly $3 trillion from the deficit’s growth over the next decade were still being negotiated. Such a deal would be tied to a vote to raise the nation’s debt limit before the government defaults on some of its obligations in 11 days.
Initial responses to some elements of the plan, however, were worrisome for negotiators. Senate Democrats emerged from a combative hourlong meeting with Jacob Lew, the White House budget director, angry over the possibility that a final plan would be tilted too far toward budget cuts and not include enough new revenues....
Senators also expressed frustration that they’ve been kept in the dark as Obama and Boehner negotiated....
Welcome to that transparent AmeriKan democrapy.
Obama is also taking his approach directly to the public today, with a town hall meeting on the deficit at the University of Maryland. He also wrote an opinion piece that was published last night on the website of USA Today. “I’m willing to cut historic amounts of spending in order to reduce our long-term deficits,’’ he wrote. “I’m willing to cut spending on domestic programs to the lowest level in half a century.’’
As the WAR BUDGET is INCREASED by DOUBLE DIGITS!!
And he is TAKING PRIDE as a DEMOCRAT in CUTTING SOCIAL SPENDING when we need it most?
Maybe Democrats ought to look into impeaching one of their own.
News of the Democrats’ dissent further complicates the mission for negotiators, who face a Herculean task to forge a deal on politically dicey issues before the nation’s debt clock runs out. It was thought that the critical vote on any such deal would be in the House, given the hardened position against revenue increases among conservative Republicans. Yet, any united opposition by Democrats in the Senate could also scuttle a deal, which would need the support of 60 senators to break filibusters....
How come Democrats never used that during Republican rule?
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"Congress departs, mystifying observers; No progress made on deficit, debt limit extension" July 23, 2011|By Matt Viser and Theo Emery, Globe Staff
WASHINGTON - In 10 days, without an act of Congress, the country will not be able to pay many of its bills, triggering shockwaves through the global economy in a way that will touch most Americans.
We heard all this before the Wall Street heist called a bailout.
Mortgage and credit card rates are expected to spike. Portions of the federal government will shut down. Some of the 70 million checks the government sends out each month will be at the least delayed.
But for the next two days, the marble hallways of Congress will be largely empty. Both chambers decided to take the weekend off....
I think they should take the rest of their careers off.
The decision to leave Capitol Hill - with little to show toward either a long-term budget solution or a debt limit extension - has baffled some observers. For those whose livelihoods depend on the federal government, it’s downright infuriating....
It is not as if the lawmakers’ standing with the public can afford to take a hit. Polls indicate that as time evaporates before the Aug. 2 debt limit deadline, so too the public’s patience. A Washington Post-ABC phone poll of 1,001 adults from July 14-17 found that 63 percent of the respondents said they may want a new representative in the 2012 elections, the record highest for the poll....
Yes, the ANTI-INCUMBENT IRE and FURY has NOT ENDED because WE DID NOT GET the CHANGE WE WANTED and thought we were voting! Instead we got an assault on our neighbors and their unions.
In the logic of Capitol Hill, the decision not to meet this weekend makes sense. The deals are largely being crafted behind closed doors by a small number of people - and with no plan to vote on, they say, it would be a waste of time to keep everyone here for little more than political stagecraft....
That is what you get when you watch cable TV news.
And if I didn't know better, I would say there is a CONSPIRACY afoot!
The paragraph also tells you the reps don't read the thing before they vote.
In his stern rebuke of Republicans last night, Obama raised the specter of anger from everyday Americans. “The American people, I think, are fed up with political posturing and an inability for politicians to take responsible action,’’ he said.
He GOT THAT RIGHT!
By not staying in Washington, lawmakers are only fueling that anger, some contend.
“Everybody’s imagining more unemployment, are seniors going to get their unemployment checks?’’ Lew Finfer, a community activist and director of the nonprofit Massachusetts Communities Action Network, said of the fears if Congress fails to complete a deal. “It’s like this bad fairy tale that’s being played out in our lives. It’s completely frustrating that the leadership isn’t there.’’
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"Leaders in Congress scramble toward deal; Race to break logjam before markets open" July 24, 2011|By Matt Viser and Theo Emery, Globe Staff
WASHINGTON - Congressional leaders scrambled yesterday to find a way out of the impasse over the nation’s debt and to forge a compromise agreement by tonight, as economists warned of looming disaster and an increasingly nervous nation hoped for a quick solution....
Economists and political observers warned that if a deal was not struck before tonight, the financial markets could begin to tumble as investors lose confidence in the political and economic systems of the United States....
If they have not already.
Michael Greenberger, a professor at the University of Maryland and former director of trading and markets of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission: “Nothing can happen short of an invasion of the United States or a detonation of a nuclear weapon that would more destroy the well being of the American people.’’
First of all, KNOCK OFF the F***ING HYPERBOLE, and then TELL ME WHEN and WHERE is the NEXT FALSE FLAG??!
If the markets do react strongly - as soon as tonight in Asia and tomorrow morning in New York - some fear the sense of crisis could mirror what occurred three years ago when the demise of Lehman Bros. and the upheaval of the credit and mortgage markets forced Congress to consider a federal bailout of financial titans.
Yeah, I WAS GETTING THAT SAME AGENDA-PUSHING FEELING ALL OVER AGAIN!
Give MORE MONEY to BANKERS -- or else!
The resulting Troubled Asset Relief Program was voted down by the House in September 2008, and the markets plunged. By the end of the week, Congress passed a version of the bill....
Hmmmmm.
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"Fallback debt plans in works, Even limited approaches are drawing ire; markets dip as default date nears" by Matt Viser Globe Staff / July 25, 2011
WASHINGTON - House and Senate leaders yesterday began working separately to craft their own fallback plans to raise the debt limit, as nervous markets dipped in response to the stalemate in the Capitol.
The value of the dollar and US stock market futures declined modestly with nine days remaining until America faces a default on its debt. The price of gold shot up as investors began seeking safe havens for cash....
The s*** is about to hit the proverbial fan, 'murka.
If Aug. 2 arrives with no deal, the government’s credit ratings will be reduced. Officials are forecasting that a variety of government payments, including Social Security checks, will be jeopardized, and that damage to the economy - nationally and worldwide - will be swift and widespread....
Senate majority leader Harry Reid was planning to release a plan of his own that is likely to be opposed by House Republicans and maybe even his own caucus....
Good thing Harry's in charge!
Global investors have been keeping a close eye on the US debt limit talks for months. The dollar slipped in value yesterday compared with the yen, euro, and Swiss franc....
“I’ve never seen economic catastrophe courted so cavalierly and casually by a political party,’’ Senator John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement. “The House Republicans are calling all the shots in their party, and they’re tempting and maybe even rooting for disaster when the markets open Monday.’’
You know, if it will stop the mass-murdering empire and cause its collapse, hell, let's get on with it.
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Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner yesterday said a potential large-scale deal that had been under negotiation last week by Obama and Boehner was still alive, even after its very public collapse on Friday night....
Meaning all that political stagecraft and breaking news conferences is BS.
It was an eerily quiet day on Capitol Hill, with the marble hallways empty, save for about two dozen reporters camped outside Boehner’s office....
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And finally, a solution -- in the form of a DICTATORSHIP!
"Some see way out of debt impasse in provision of 14th Amendment " by New York Times / July 25, 2011
WASHINGTON - A few days ago, President Clinton identified a constitutional escape hatch should President Obama and Congress fail to come to terms on a deficit reduction plan before the government hits its borrowing ceiling. He pointed to an obscure provision in the 14th Amendment, saying he would invoke it “without hesitation’’ to raise the debt ceiling “and force the courts to stop me.’’
Imagine the hollering from Democrats had Bush done something like that.
Oh, right, they just raised the ceilings for him.
On Friday, Obama rejected the idea, though not in categorical terms. “I have talked to my lawyers,’’ Obama said. “They are not persuaded that that is a winning argument.’’
The prospect of more uncertainty and possible court battles do not seem to appeal to the White House, and it is, in any event, not clear that the nation’s creditors would continue to lend it money were the president to take unilateral action.
Do you keep buying an alcoholic a drink?
The provision in question, Section 4 of the amendment, was meant to ensure payment of Union debts after the Civil War and to disavow Confederate ones. But it was written in broader terms.
“The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payments of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion,’’ the critical sentence says, “shall not be questioned.’’
Yeah, it sure does smell like a dictatorship.
In recent weeks, law professors have been trying to puzzle out the meaning and relevance of the provision.
If they have to do that it is probably illegal.
Some have joined Clinton in saying that it allows Obama to ignore the debt ceiling. Others say it applies only to Congress and only to outright default on existing debts.
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Also see: Uncertainties over US aid vex students
"FAA faces midnight deadline to avoid its shutdown" July 22, 2011|By Joan Lowy, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - If that happens, airlines would no longer collect federal ticket taxes.
There is ALWAYS a SILVER LINING in the CLOUDS!
About 4,000 FAA workers whose jobs are funded with ticket tax revenues will be furloughed, LaHood told reporters at a press conference....
Long-term authority for the FAA expired in 2007. Unable to agree on long-term funding legislation for the agency, Congress has kept the FAA operating through a series of 20 short-term extension bills.
The previous 20 extensions have been routine. But this time House Republicans added a provision eliminating government subsidies for airline service to 13 rural communities. Senate Democrats say the provision is unacceptable, but House Republicans have been unwilling to remove it.
If there is not an extension, the largest furlough would initially involve nearly 1,000 workers at FAA headquarters in Washington, transportation officials said....
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"Impasses lead to shutdown of FAA" July 23, 2011
WASHINGTON - Efforts to avert a shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration failed yesterday amid a disagreement over a $16.5 million cut in subsidies to 13 rural communities, ensuring that at midnight nearly 4,000 people will be temporarily out of work and federal airline ticket taxes will be suspended.
Lawmakers were unable to resolve a partisan dispute over an extension of the agency’s operating authority.
The subsidy cut was included by Republicans in a House bill extending operating authority for the FAA, which has a $16 billion budget. Senate Democrats refused to accept the House bill with the cuts, and Republican senators refused to accept a Democratic bill without it. Lawmakers then adjourned for the weekend.
But underlying the dispute on rural air service subsidies was a standoff between the GOP-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate over a provision in long-term funding legislation for the FAA that would make it more difficult for airline and railroad workers to unionize.
And the attacks on unions continues.
Obama administration officials have said the shutdown will not affect air safety. Air traffic controllers will remain on the job. But airlines will lose the authority to collect about $200 million a week in ticket taxes that go into a trust fund that pays for FAA programs.
Another government "trust" fund, 'eh?
FAA employees whose jobs are paid for with trust fund money will be furloughed, including nearly 1,000 workers at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, 647 workers at FAA’s technology and research center in Atlantic City, and 124 workers at the agency’s training center in Oklahoma City.
“These are real people with families who do not deserve to be put out of work during these tough economic times,’’ FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in a statement.
Airline passengers could see a big savings on their airfares, but the situation is complicated....
Somehow it always is when you are getting the break, consumer!
Airport and security fees that will continue to be collected, according to the Air Transport Association....
It's like a PROTECTION RACKET down at the airport!
You gonna pay us da security or sumpin' bad gonna happen to you airplane!
Another unresolved issue involves about $200 million in air services subsidies to rural communities. The program was created when airlines were deregulated in 1978 to ensure continued air service on less profitable routes to isolated communities....
What do you mean the local airport closed?
I don't want to drive to Boston to get you on a plane!
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That should get you to the door of the airport, dear readers.
