Friday, July 15, 2011

Democrats Hold Social Security Hostage

You combine this with the failure to end the wars and their is nothing but dejection when one looks at the Democrats. 

I was raised to believe the Democrats were the good party, the peace party, the party of the people, the better alternative to Republican rule.

One is filled with nothing but sadness when one sees what level Democrats will stoop to serve banks. 

"Benefits at risk, Geithner warns; Ties Social Security to higher debt cap | Leaders meet; more talks today" July 11, 2011|By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON - As the nation inched closer yesterday to what the White House says would be a catastrophic default on its massive debt, President Obama’s administration ratcheted up the pressure on Republicans by suggesting Social Security checks for some 55 million Americans could be in jeopardy if no deal is reached in the next three weeks.  

Are the wars in jeopardy?

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said his agency must borrow 40 cents of every dollar it spends and suggested that without the ability to borrow, it may not be able to deliver crucial benefits to Americans who rely on them to pay for food and other necessities.  

Well, the BORROWING HAS TO STOP, and WE ALREADY PAID for the BENEFITS and we want them!!

“On August 2d, we’re left running on fumes,’’ Geithner said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.’’ “We have no capacity to borrow… . We have to act; Congress has to act ahead of that point. If they don’t act, then we face catastrophic damage to the American economy.’’  

This is the SAME SCARE S*** that preceded the bailout fleecing!

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Suggestions from the Obama administration that it was prepared to make cuts to entitlement programs such as Medicare as part of a deal have drawn a fierce reaction from members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, who wrote a letter to Obama asking him to fight any effort to undermine such programs.

The letter, signed by all 10 Bay State members of the House, said that if Republicans get their way, more than 1 million seniors in Massachusetts could be denied some Medicare benefits, and seniors would have to pay an extra $540 per month for health care. And they said some 1.4 million low-income and disabled residents in the state depend on Medicaid.

Yesterday, Representative Richard E. Neal, a Springfield Democrat and member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said that 60 cents of every Medicaid dollar goes to nursing home care. 

Related: Nursing Home Profits

He said those programs should not suffer because Republicans ran up the debt when they were in power with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, tax cuts, and a prescription benefit for seniors.  

Well, DEMOCRATS had a FILIBUSTER-PROOF MAJORITY and the WARS STILL ROLL ON (heck, they started another one) and the TAX CUTS WERE NOT REPEALED!

“The people who set the fire are now the ones calling the fire department. They ran up the deficits, and now they’re complaining about the deficits,’’ he said, noting that he would favor a short-term agreement if it preserved entitlement programs.

Representative Stephen Lynch, a South Boston Democrat, said his party has compromised enough.

“I’d like to see Republicans put something on the table that includes some revenue raisers,’’ Lynch said. “Until they do that, I feel like we’ve already voted for substantial cuts on our side.’’

Representative Edward Markey, a Malden Democrat, also lashed out at Republicans, saying they have to consider tax revenue as part of any deal. Democrats have proposed eliminating subsidies for oil and gas companies and tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans that were passed under President George W. Bush and extended by Congress and Obama last year....    

My only question is WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN for the TWO YEARS YOU HAD CONTROL?

Oh, right, they EXTENDED the BUSH TAX CUTS!!!

Are YOU as TIRED of the POLITICAL SHOW FOOLIES as me?

Economists are split on the options available to the administration to avert default. Peter Morici, an economics professor at the University of Maryland, said in an interview yesterday that the country has enough money to pay interest on the debt as well as pay for Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid, without raising the debt limit.

But he did acknowledge there would be little money left for anything else, aside from keeping the lights on in the White House and Congress.

“We don’t have to default,’’ Morici said. “Now if [Geithner] chooses to default, it would be a catastrophe. We’re playing a game of chicken here.’’

Other economists, more than 200 of whom signed a letter to congressional leadership in recent weeks, said the debt limit must be raised.

“Not doing so promptly could have a substantial negative impact on economic growth at a time when the economy looks a bit shaky,’’ they wrote. “In a worst case, it could push the United States back into recession.’’

Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts referenced their letter in an impassioned speech on the Senate floor last week.

“Here we are - less than five weeks from August 2d - the day the US government will default on its obligations for the first time in our history,’’ he said. “And Washington is still playing the same old political games - a dangerous game of chicken with enormous consequences.  

Actually, that's a LIE -- but what else would you expect from the senator these days.

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"Obama presses; Boehner resists' Some in GOP say president overstates risk of debt default" July 12, 2011|By Donovan Slack and Theo Emery, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON - President Obama urged Republicans yesterday to stand up to political pressure and agree to tax increases as part of a far-reaching deal to prevent a government default.  

The true agenda rears its ugly head. We don't need more taxes; we need less war and corporate welfare.

But House Speaker John Boehner refused to budge, as some conservatives in the House asserted the White House was exaggerating the risk of a default.

Actually, the social security cudgel is a canard.

The president has proposed eliminating subsidies for oil companies and tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans in exchange for deep spending cuts....  

What did Democrats do in the two years of super-majority other than pass a rotten health plan?

 “We might as well do it now - pull off the Band-Aid; eat our peas,’’ Obama said, explaining his demand that lawmakers think long-term and not settle for a stopgap, small-scale deal that would soon have to be revisited. “Now is the time to do it. If not now, when?’’ 

So what is with the president and his prejudice against peas?

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Complicating the showdown are some Tea Party conservatives who believe the threat of defaulting on the debt has been overblown by the Obama administration; other Republicans argue that political brinkmanship is the best way to shrink government.  

Yeah, those darn Tea Partiers!  

You know, they are far from perfect and some are a co-opted lot that was piggy-backed upon; however, their willingness to cut military with liberal Democrats rarely receives much mention. 

And hey, if the agenda-pushing AmeriKan media knocks and insults you (has called them insurgents!) there must be something good about you.

The nation is set to exceed the $14.3 trillion cap on borrowing, and unless Congress raises that limit by Aug. 2, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has suggested his agency’s ability to pay Social Security and other benefits could be in jeopardy.  

And then you turn on local news and left-wing(?) talk radio in the car and are told it's all misinformation about Obama taking away the checks. What would you call it?

In addition, any delay in paying off Treasury bills to investors would raise interest rates the government must pay on its debt, economists contend, costing the nation tens of billions of additional dollars.  

Maybe this will grab your interest: 

"Interest on the national debt rose 9 percent to $386 billion in the first nine months of this year"

And either way tens of billions will be added -- as the very same "investors" that were bailed out hike rates!
 

So WHAT WOULD $515 BILLION a YEAR BUY YOU, America?


Adam Brandon, spokesman for FreedomWorks, a Washington group founded by former House majority leader Dick Armey that has helped nurture the Tea Party movement, estimated that about 50 Republicans in the House and some in the Senate would be willing to let the Aug. 2 deadline pass without raising the debt limit.

“These guys are not going to roll over on this one. They may go to the [mats], and I expect them to. That’s why that complicates things for Boehner - he can’t count on the old coalitions,’’ Brandon said. “The Tea Party class that got elected was serious when it said enough is enough.’’

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Obama hinted that Tea Party and hard-line conservative politics that won Republicans the House in November may not be serving them or their leader, Boehner, well now.

“The politics that swept him into the speakership were good for a midterm election; they’re tough for governing,’’ Obama said. “And part of what the Republican caucus generally needs to recognize is that American democracy works when people … are willing to make some sensible compromises to solve big problems. And I think that there are members of that caucus who haven’t fully arrived at that realization yet.’’  

What a condescending shill of a servant. 

Related: Obama on Obama

Oh, and a FLIP-FLOPPER, too!!!

Republican majority leader Eric Cantor of Virginia said the deal Obama referred to included more than $1 trillion in tax increases, a deal-breaker for most, if not all, GOP lawmakers.

The influx of freshman Republican lawmakers, propelled into office by Tea Party support last fall, has hardened the party’s stance on limiting government spending and on rejecting any legislation that hints of raising revenues.

Again, it is that damn Tea Party's fault that the government won't pledge U.S. taxpayers into deeper debt.

Cantor referred repeatedly to the GOP’s “Pledge to America,’’ unveiled weeks before the elections in November and filled with key goals of Tea Party groups.

“Our members did not come here to raise taxes,’’ Cantor said. “Sprinkled throughout is our pledge not to raise taxes on the American people.’’

Some Republicans said the president’s suggestion that Tea Party politics are dividing the Republican caucus and hindering its ability to compromise are off base.

“I have a core belief that I’ve maintained that raising taxes doesn’t solve the problem,’’ said Representative Frank Guinta, a New Hampshire Republican who was elected with support from Tea Party activists. Guinta suggested that the talk of a divided GOP is a tactic of Obama’s.

But Brandon of FreedomWorks agreed with the president that Boehner has a difficult task in corralling his caucus.

Boehner’s problem is Obama’s problem....’’  

So the D and the R after the name really doesn't mean s***, does it?

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Some think it does:

"Politics as usual spells disaster; heed Obama’s call for debt deal" July 12, 2011

The growing awareness that America can’t pull together in a crisis.
 
I'd say time for another 9/11style false flag attack, and the globalist psychopaths just might nuke an American city; however, that won't sell this time. Too many people in the world are aware of the inside job nature of that intelligence agency operation.

Sure, the government could become even more draconian and become completely totalitarian here, but that is a signal that they have already lost. Those kind of actions herald the end of empires, not their extension.

And look who the Globe blames:

The fault isn’t just with the politicians. Over the past decade, the voters have set two destructive patterns.

Yeah, it's not the war mongers and their mouthpiece media or the fraudulent looters of Wall Street that have incensed the voters into a dump-the-incumbents attitude.

First, whoever touches entitlements (George W. Bush in 2006, and Obama and congressional Democrats in the health-reform act of 2010) loses the following election.  

We bounced Bush because we wanted an end to the wars and a check on that f***. We got nothing but capitulation and a surge. Obama, same thing.

Of course, this is the Globe's version

Second, when the minority party in Congress presents a unified, strictly obstructionist opposition (Democrats in ’06, Republicans in ’10), it reaps political rewards - the unyielding stance excites their core ideological backers and so frustrates the other side that its own core supporters become dispirited....  

Oh, I look back on that 2006 election and how happy -- yet terribly naive -- I was. 

I was even happy in 2009 because that bastard Bush was leaving and I was hopeful regarding the new man. That faded PDQ.

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And how do solve the debt problem?  Declare a dictator!

"Republican would let Obama raise limit; McConnell sets out ‘last-choice option’" July 13, 2011|By Jackie Calmes, New York Times

WASHINGTON - From the White House and Congress to financial centers, pessimism spread yesterday about the prospects of a debt-limit deal between President Obama and Republicans, prompting the Senate Republican leader to propose a “last-choice option’’ that piqued the administration’s interest but angered conservatives in his own party.

The leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said a bipartisan budget-cutting deal is probably out of reach, making it unlikely that Republicans would approve an increase in the government’s debt limit by Aug. 2.

To prevent default, he proposed that Congress in effect empower Obama to raise the government’s borrowing limit without its prior approval of offsetting cuts in spending.  

That's a dictatorship.

Administration officials welcomed the McConnell initiative for at least signaling that both parties’ leaders were committed to averting a potential economy-shaking government default; many Democrats in Congress saw it as a way to avoid the sort of deep cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security that Republicans have sought as the price of their votes for a debt-limit increase.

But many conservatives immediately assailed McConnell’s proposal as a panicky sellout, much as they in recent days had attacked the House Republican leader, Speaker John A. Boehner, for privately discussing with Obama a debt-reduction deal that could raise revenues as well as cut spending - ultimately forcing Boehner to retreat.

Boehner, though, suggested he could be open to the McConnell proposal, highlighting concern among the Republican leadership about how the showdown with the administration would end, the blame the party could suffer if a debt-limit crisis hurt the economy, and the challenge of leading their rank and file into a compromise....  

Why won't leader$hip li$ten to the rank-and-file?

While McConnell’s plan would face an array of political and perhaps constitutional issues, it signaled that Republican leaders did not intend to let conservative demands for deep spending cuts provoke a possible financial crisis and saddle the party with a reputation for irresponsible intransigence....

That's what I think is all about. The Social Security tie-in is a complete ruse. It's meant to drive the debt slavery hole deeper.  The people pulling the strings, the economic geniuses, etc, are either totally incompetent -- in which case one must ask why are they still directing the fix? -- or this truly is part of the plan to bring about central world government. 

What is it Klein called it, the Shock Doctrine?  

And a constitutional issue? You bet it is!

Obama stoked Republicans’ political concerns when, in answer to a question in an interview with CBS News, he said he “cannot guarantee’’ the government can pay benefits next month to Social Security recipients, veterans, and the disabled if Congress does not increase the debt limit by August.  

He just said it. A Democrap.

McConnell’s proposal would give Obama sweeping power to increase the government’s borrowing authority, in three increments, by up to $2.4 trillion - enough, it is estimated, to cover federal obligations through next year - only if Obama specifies spending cuts of equal amounts.

Congress would vote on whether to approve Obama’s debt-limit increases, but the president could veto any disapproval and presumably sustain his veto in the House and Senate. And Congress would not have to approve the proposed spending cuts prior to the debt-limit increase.  

Translation: Leadership just washed its hands of the whole mess and abdicated.

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And if the pre$$ure is coming from certain quarters then I'm opposed:

"Lobbyists clamor for resolution" July 13, 2011|Washington Post

WASHINGTON - After weeks of remaining on the sidelines, the country’s most powerful business lobbying groups yesterday made their loudest call yet for the White House and Congress to come to an agreement on the debt ceiling and a plan for reducing the nation’s deficit.

While many groups have warned of dire consequences for the US economy if the debt limit is not raised, the business lobby had remained largely mute.

The letter from the US Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, and 500 senior executives marks an acknowledgment that the Aug. 2 deadline, when the government risks defaulting on its obligations, is getting too close for comfort for many businesses....

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And LOOK WHO is FIRST in LINE for the LOOT:

"All could feel pain of US default; Nation’s creditors would be paid first" July 14, 2011|By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON - If there is any consensus on what would happen if Congress does not vote to raise the debt limit by Aug. 2, it’s this: Creditors would get the first crack at the few billion dollars left in the federal coffers.

That’s because no one in the government, not even Tea Party Republicans who vociferously argue against raising the limit, wants to damage an already staggering world economy.

Failing to pay what is owed holders of Treasury bills, bonds, and other investments tied to the US government could cause catastrophic short-term problems, such as the credit market freezing as fearful banks refuse to loan money.  

Like they did four years ago.

Long term, any failure to meet these obligations would drive up costs of borrowing, adding hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit....  

Upon the BILLIONS ALREADY OWED each year!

For those next in line to receive money due from the government, the future is much murkier.

That is YOU, taxpaying citizen. 

On Aug. 3, some $23 billion in Social Security checks are scheduled to be sent, as are $2.2 billion in Medicare and Medicaid payments, and $1.4 billion in food stamps, welfare cash assistance, and unemployment benefits, according to an analysis of federal cash flow and invoices by the Bipartisan Policy Center.

President Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner have both said they cannot guarantee recipients will receive those Social Security checks, money that millions of the nation’s seniors and disabled depend upon....  

But the WARS are FULLY FUNDED, and if ISRAEL wants something a check is cut pretty fast!

Some analysts and legislators held out hope that Social Security recipients would be near the top of the payment list.

“The chances that Social Security wouldn’t be paid are very remote,’’ said Jennifer Duffy, senior analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. “Both parties understand that seniors live on this money, and they will find a way to make it happen. This is not to suggest there might not be a delay.’’

So it is ALL SCARE TACTICS in the name of FINANCIAL BLACKMAIL, huh?

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“As everybody knows, it doesn’t take much to spook the financial markets,’’ said Randy Albelda, an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. “The fear of not paying back the debt or the possibility of that, it doesn’t matter whether we do it or not, it’s the fear that will shake the financial markets.

“Wall Street folks are already … saying, ‘don’t play chicken and get in a car wreck with our economy,’ ’’ she said.  

Yup, it is WALL STREET'S ECONOMY, did you see that?!!

Yeah, WALL STREET is REALLY LOOKING OUT for MAIN STREET!  That is why they PEDDLED the MBS FRAUD and FRAUDULENTLY FORECLOSED on HOMES!

In all, the government is scheduled to pay out $307 billion between Aug. 2 and 31, but it will take in only $172 billion, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. The Washington-based think tank seeks to promote bipartisanship and offers analysis on key subjects before Congress.

The largest expense is Social Security, at $49 billion.

Oh, there is PLENTY in the $172 billion for Social Security. 

Besides, isn't that a TRUST FUND?

See: U.S. Government Stole Social Security Surplus

You can't trust this government for anything. 

Interest on the nation’s current debt will cost $29 billion....  

For the MONTH?!!

The Treasury considers not paying any obligations a default.

“Adopting a policy that payments to investors should take precedence over other US legal obligations would merely be default by another name, since the world would recognize it as a failure by the United States to stand behind its commitments,’’ the agency said in a statement. “It would therefore bring about the same catastrophic economic consequences.’’
 
I smell a RIP-OFF in the WORKS!

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"Debt talks: Dire warnings, a possible compromise?" by David Espo and Andrew Taylor Associated Press / July 14, 2011

WASHINGTON—With time growing short and warnings more dire, the first, fragile signs emerged Thursday of a possible compromise to raise the nation's debt limit and avert a potentially catastrophic default on Aug. 2.  

So banks are left holding the bag for once. Too bad. 

Under a plan discussed by the Senate's top two leaders, President Barack Obama would receive enhanced authority to raise the debt ceiling at the same time procedures would be set in motion that could lead to federal spending cuts.... 

Yeah, that's going to go over well with the right.

The day's events were shadowed by warnings from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jaime Dimon. Speaking separately, the two men admonished bickering lawmakers that failure to avoid an unprecedented default could have a devastating effect on an already anemic U.S. economy.  

 Forget the lying. If those two scum are for it, I'm a'gin it!!!

Adding to the urgency, Moody's Investor Service has announced it is reviewing America's bond rating for a possible downgrade.

Banker pressure.

In a separate announcement, the credit rating agency Standard & Poor's warned that there is a 50 percent chance it will downgrade the government's credit rating within three months because of the impasse.

There was growing concern overseas, too. A Chinese rating agency, Dagong Global Credit Rating Co., also advised of a possible downgrade, and Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: "We hope that the U.S. government adopts a responsible policy to ensure the interests of the investors."  

Yeah, that's a real problem. Chinese hold so much they can destroy the AmeriKan economy if they dump 'em.

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The alarms covered a broad front: Geithner is a senior official in the Obama administration, Bernanke is the nation's central banker and Dimon the head of one of Wall Street's best-known firms....  

With those guys raising the alarms my suspicion is once again that it is fal$e.

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Related: Backup plan to raise debt limit is in the works (By Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane, Washington Post)

I bet it gets done late Saturday night. That's how they usually tuck it to the taxpayer.

And look who ain't hurtin' for cash:

"Obama raises $86m in past 3 months" July 14, 2011|Associated Press

WASHINGTON - President Obama collected $86 million for his reelection campaign and the Democratic Party during the past three months, giving him a large fund-raising advantage over the Republican field seeking to challenge him in 2012.

Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in a video that the campaign had raised more than $47 million and the Democratic National Committee had brought in more than $38 million through the end of June, building a foundation for advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts in next year’s election. Obama’s team had set a public goal of $60 million combined.

The fund-raising totals outpace Republicans, who have collectively raised about $35 million so far....

Look$ like we are getting Democrats again in 2012.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney leads the GOP field in fund-raising, pulling in more than $18 million during the past three months....

Following Romney, former governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota collected $4.2 million and former Utah governor Jon Huntsman of Utah brought in $4.1 million, with about half coming from his personal wealth. Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, a Tea Party favorite, has not yet released her totals....    

So Ron Paul's $4.5 million doesn't count, huh? 

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Also see: 

"Social Security Has NOTHING To Do With The Debt Crisis!" Congressman Dennis Kucinich