"Obama argues debt case to nation; Boehner rebuts in another speech as divide deepens, default looms" July 26, 2011|By Matt Viser, Globe Staff
WASHINGTON - President Obama, reminding lawmakers “the whole world is watching,’’ exhorted them last night to break through partisan bickering and pass a comprehensive budget deal that protects Americans from the pain of a government default in one week.
I don't like peer pressure.
The prime-time address to the nation came hours after House and Senate leaders released dueling plans that promised to spark days of battles between the chambers and within the parties. No clear path to a resolution emerged.
Invoking the words and actions of Ronald Reagan and hinting of impending economic havoc, the president told lawmakers failure is not an option.
Citing Reagan must have made Democrats feel all fuzzy.
“The American people may have voted for divided government, but they didn’t vote for a dysfunctional government,’’ Obama said during a 15-minute address. “We can’t allow the American people to become collateral damage to Washington’s warfare.... Let’s seize this moment.’’
I really don't know where to begin with the man. We already are collateral damage, and beyond the wars. The foreclosure fraud that kicked people out of their homes and the forced(?) the Fed to buyback all the shit MBS has done more damage than any "terrorist."
This "seize the moment" talk is SCARY because it EVOKES URGENCY of AGENDA! Anytime the elite puppets of leadership start talking that way GRAB YOUR WALLET!
Oh, and BTW when we put Democrats in we THOUGHT WE WERE VOTING for an END to the WARS not MORE WARS! That is WHY YOU GOT ISOLATIONIST -- I know, bad word -- Tea Party people in power now!
--more--"
Related: Wall Street workers lift Boehner campaign
What a shock.
"Woes mount for GOP debt plan; Vote delayed as members balk, savings fall short" by Matt Viser, Globe Staff / July 27, 2011
WASHINGTON - Although US markets remained relatively sanguine, the impasse prompted some pundits and scholars to speculate about the power of the president to intervene and raise the debt limit unilaterally, under provisions of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
Last related: Debt Decision Day
Doesn't the thought of DICTATORSHIP just send a tingle through you?
The White House has sought to tamp down such speculation, and it was not being discussed in the Capitol halls by lawmakers yesterday.
The section was created to ensure the government would pay off Civil War debt, but it has never been used to raise the debt limit.
“An argument could be advanced in good faith and with a straight face that the president does have the power to do this,’’ said Louis Michael Seidman, a constitutional law professor at Georgetown University. “For reasons I don’t completely understand, he seems to have taken it off the table. But if Aug. 2 comes and goes and there’s not a settlement . . . I could easily see him reconsidering.’’
It's dictatorship without the sig heils.
And if you think the analogy unfair, well, the guy has expanded the Predator drone program and begun a third war front with Libya.
For now, though, the argument appears to be nothing more than academic, with the White House repeatedly saying it is an option the president will not utilize.
“It’s not available,’’ White House press secretary Jay Carney said yesterday. “The Constitution makes clear that Congress has the authority - not the president - to borrow money. And only Congress can increase the statutory debt ceiling. That’s just a reality.’’
I'm going to hold you to that, sir.
Senators, even as they dug in publicly, were working behind the scenes to find a bipartisan compromise....
A key question, though, will be whether any Senate-backed plan will find favor in the House....
I can't see it, not with those Tea Partiers, right?
--more--"
"GOP moderates shrinking in numbers - and impact; Base shifts right, and ideological zealotry follows" by Tracy Jan, Globe Staff / July 27, 2011
WASHINGTON - “The base of the party right now is the Tea Party, frankly,’’ said Trey Grayson, former secretary of state of Kentucky who now directs the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School after losing in the 2010 US Senate GOP primary against Tea Party candidate Rand Paul. “Those are the folks who are the most active, the loudest, who go to town hall meetings, call members of Congress, and show up at political barbecues, and they’re pulling the party to the right.’’
You know, I WAS TOLD MY WHOLE LIFE that was DEMOCRACY and being an ACTIVE and CIVIC CITIZEN!!
The shift, and resulting polarization between right-leaning Republicans and increasingly liberal Democrats, bodes ill for constructive discourse and effective governance, say political scientists. The far right has so vilified Obama that for Republican congressmen to even negotiate with the White House is seen as treason by many Republicans, said Alan Abramowitz, a political scientist at Emory University....
Then the WALL went up!!!!
Good luck scaling it, readers; I'm going to bail on this meaningless, left-right, conservative-liberal, Democrat-Republican, diversion when it's all one war party.
--more--"
Also see: Globe Editorial Tea Party and its enablers push US to brink of default
Yeah, it's their fault.
How did we get into this mess after two years of Democrat majority rule for the last two years?
Oh, yeah, and ABOUT THOSE CUTS to the SOCIAL PROGRAMS for which YOU HAVE ALREADY PAID!!
"Even with debt, US not closing offshore loophole; Neal says bill could raise $1.7b per year" by Christopher Rowland, Globe Staff / July 27, 2011
WASHINGTON -Overseas reinsurance firms, most with large operations in the United States and headquarters in Bermuda and Switzerland. The foreign reinsurance companies are not required to pay federal income taxes on the estimated $30 billion a year they shift from American subsidiaries to their offshore affiliates....
“Their presence is in the United States. Their post office box is offshore.’’
**************************
Tax specialists say it is just one example of the ways corporations legally move income from the United States to offshore accounts - and out of range of the IRS.
Are you out of range of the IRS, American?
The Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan arm of the federal government, estimated last year that such shifting costs US taxpayers as much as $60 billion a year in lost revenue....
Now about those Social Security checks and Medicare payments....
Offshore reinsurance companies say taking away the deductions on transfers would violate international trade agreements and lead to higher rates for homeowners and businesses....
Yeah, we are always the ones to be punished.
Then the WALL went up again!!!!
I'll hand-type the best of the rest for you.
Companies with foreign headquarters now dominate the global reinsurance market, reflecting a shift away from US shores that began in the 1990s and picked up steam after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina in 2005....
Through a variety of strategies, many US corporations pay nothing close to America's 35 percent corporate tax rate....
And in fact, they GET A BIG FAT TAXPAYER CHECK for YEARS to COME!
See: State Street Stealers
What do you mean GE got a $3.2 billion refund?
--more--"
Yes, whatever will the bankers do if they don't drive us further into debt?
"Financial firms ponder options should US default" by Todd Wallack, Globe Staff / July 27, 2011
Financial institutions across the country were reviewing their holdings, preparing contingency plans, and working to calm anxious investors as the government moved another day closer to defaulting on its financial obligations.
While most banks and investment firms expect Congress to strike a deal, they are nonetheless preparing for what might happen if lawmakers fail to lift the debt ceiling and avoid a default by next week’s deadline....
If Congress fails to raise the limit, the government would be unable to borrow to meet its obligations, resulting in a technical default, and provoking what many analysts say would be another financial and economic crisis.
Both Republican and Democratic leaders say they want to avoid a default and, so far, financial markets have signaled they believe they will. Stocks have declined in each of the past three days, but there has not been panic selling. Investors are still buying US Treasury bonds, and their interests rates fell yesterday, a sign buyers still see them as safe....
Except today the TV news guy had a sour face on as the stock market dropped again (from the few seconds I saw).
--more--"
And ARE YOU SICK of the EXCUSES, American workers?
"Uncertainty has Mass. firms wary of hiring, expanding" July 26, 2011|By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff
Bill Weissman said sales at his Fitchburg furniture-making company have been so strong this year that he considered buying new equipment and hiring new workers. But Weissman said he is “worried sick’’ that events in Washington will harm the stock market and an already fragile economy, so he is putting off expansion plans.
“It’s just got me to the point where I’m not looking to take any further risk,’’ Weissman said of the debt-ceiling debate. “At least not until I can see some stability on the horizon.’’
The political crisis in Washington has begun to affect business decisions across a wide array of Massachusetts employers, from manufacturers to real estate firms to high-tech companies. Still cautious from the last recession, many business owners worry that government leaders will be unable to reach an agreement, while others are concerned about exactly the opposite: that any agreement will invariably include spending cuts and weaken an already lackluster recovery.
The result could be even more caution among businesses, and even slower growth for the state and national economies....
Despite yesterday’s decline, markets still seem to be betting that policy makers will reach a deal before the deadline. Investors continue to buy Treasuries, and their interest rates remain low, a sign that most buyers still see little risk in them. But fears are beginning to surface....
--more--"
Any protests out there, Globe?
"Veterans plan D.C. protest via Facebook " by Washington Post / July 27, 2011
WASHINGTON - The nation’s largest organization representing disabled veterans and their families is organizing a “virtual march on Washington’’ on Facebook to protect veterans’ compensation and benefits from being targeted for cuts in the debt-crisis negotiations.
The online protest, set for today, comes as veterans groups express increasing anger that veterans are being used in a game of brinkmanship....
We are all being used!
The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, echoing comments from President Obama, warned this month that payments for veterans benefits could halt if there is no deal to raise the debt ceiling. Republicans have called such comments scare tactics....
--more--"
