E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS“The House speaker, John A. Boehner, and the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, were preparing separate backup plans to raise the nation’s debt ceiling on Sunday after they and the White House were unable to form a bipartisan plan that would end an increasingly grim standoff over the federal budget,” the New York Times writes. “The dueling plans emerged after Mr. Boehner walked away from negotiations with the White House on Friday, leading to a frustrating weekend of talks in heat-scorched Washington. The leaders of both parties variously negotiated together over the phone, talked separately, conferred with their caucuses and tried to plot an end to the debt crisis that would assure the capital markets around the world that America would meet its debt obligations.”
The sticking points with Reid’s plan: It gets part of its savings by assuming the end of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The Washington Post: "[P]eople familiar with the months-long search for a debt-reduction compromise said that hitting such a large target without raising taxes or cutting entitlement programs would probably require Reid to rely heavily on savings from ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — a figure budget analysts said could easily amount to more than $1 trillion over the next decade. Counting money not spent on wars that the nation is already planning to end is widely viewed as a budget gimmick, and House GOP leaders have been reluctant to include it as savings.”
More: “But it has a political advantage because it was included in the budget blueprint House Republicans adopted this spring. And Democratic sources said the option may look more attractive as the clock ticks down to Aug. 2, when Treasury officials say they will run out of money to pay all of the government’s bills.”
How the market is viewing all of this: “U.S. stock futures dropped while gold hit a record high on Monday, as President Barack Obama and Congress failed to reach a deal to allow an increase in the nation's debt ceiling, raising worries that the U.S. might default on its sovereign debt,” the Wall Street Journal says.
Elizabeth Drew in the New York Review of Books: “Someday people will look back and wonder, What were they thinking? Why, in the midst of a stalled recovery, with the economy fragile and job creation slowing to a trickle, did the nation’s leaders decide that the thing to do—in order to raise the debt limit, normally a routine matter—was to spend less money, making job creation all the more difficult? Many experts on the economy believe that the President has it backward: that focusing on growth and jobs is more urgent in the near term than cutting the deficit, even if such expenditures require borrowing. But that would go against Obama’s new self-portrait as a fiscally responsible centrist.”
Leave a Comment:
Okay. Now conservatives will finally get their wish, and liberals will have a plan that you can point and shoot at.
Now, someone tell me how this will accomplish anything more than further polarization of the parties' positions.
Everybody sing together ....
Anna, All I can think of is Dueling Banjos ... Modern version of "Fiddling as Rome Burns"
You see what happens when the Democrats present their plan the GOP get up and walks out . they don't want the Democrats plan all they want it to be able to complain about something.
I think its time to kick these "BUMS" out of Washington and take their pensions to repay the Social Security Account that they allowed to be raided !..Even the past congress/senate should lose their pensions they knew it was happening and chose to not to stop it !
Say:
And that would solve the debt/deficit problem how?
Slogans and symbolism are NOT solutions. You can get a million people to say "YES!" to taking pensions away from Congress. But it won't do damn thing about the real problem.
But it won't do damn thing about the real problem.
But it would sure feel good. I say its time to bring back the guillotine. These aristocrats are killing us.
Amy:
Let's concentrate on a solution for now. Revenge is the result of anger out of control.
You can "feel good" about punishing the aristocratic legislative failures, but at the end of the day, we're still screwed unless and until we find a way to save this country.
bilweeler
The solutions are on the table. It's the politicians who are refusing to act. They don't even care what the voters think, so contacting our congressperson doesn't help. Wall Street is holding job creation hostage to strong-arm the Democrats into relaxing financial regulation. Now Republicans are offering Wall Street tax loop-holes in exchange for campaign donations. Protection money, as it were. The Parties are competing for cash from Wall Street and "saving the country" is the furthest thing from their minds.
Amy:
I don't disagree. The institutions, and those running it are corrupt. They do not deserve the perks or the power they seek and hold.
That said, though, I'm not into symbolism for the sake of symbolism. Take away pensions? Make it part of the solution...not the entire solution.
Speaker Boehner and his Republican/TP Inc. colleagues are deluding themselves. They really think that this is a winning proposition for them and want to have another fight near next years election. The only voters supporting their 'stand' are the 22% of the 37% of voters who voted in the last election. I'm no statistician but doesn't that work out to somewhere around 10% of eligible voters? Don't they realize that Presidential elections bring out a higher number of voters? Don't they realize they are energizing the very people who do not support them?
Seriously, these guys are delusional. And, unfortunately, Reid is giving in to them.
The government does not have a spending problem, it has a revenue problem.
What's scaring me is it doesn't look like Independent voters, or even Republican voters, are the Republicans' target audience; they seem to be playing for the attention of the oil companies, CEO's and the mega wealthy. Looks like they're trying to catch up to President Obama's $85 million campaign war chest. "Donate to us, we'll save your tax loopholes."
Well this circus will definitely have an impact on campaign funds. My elected Republican representatives are unavailable and unresponsive to email, phone calls or messages.
As a long time Independant I will be (for the first time) making substantial donations to the DNC and local Democratic candidates campaign funds. If money talks, the conversation is getting started now.
Good point, Old Pharmacist, I tried to contact my Representative over the weekend through their website contact form, but it will not open. I just figured they were getting too many requests and the traffic was preventing it . . . except it was in the middle of the night. I just tried again, and still can not reach him. It's as if they can not let others tell them how they really feel because it will prove that their delusion that the people are behind them is not true. There is a rally outside his office at noon tomorrow, I will be there.
Anybody else having problems getting hold of your Republican/TP Inc. representative? To his credit, my Republican/TP Inc. Senator's contact form is still available.
Sure you will Pharmacist...because all of a sudden our debt doesn't matter to you and your now all of a sudden leaning left.
I think all of the Republicans that follows Boeher,ought to be fired and have to live like us everyday people that is working our butts off to make aliving. If it wasn't for the Republicans we wound not be in this mess. Fire the REpublicans.
Say it isn't so, I have to agree with you. If these clowns thought that it would affect them, then it would be a different story. They are playing with our futures, but we have to be careful who we elect because we can get a senate and house full of people like the tea-party then we all will suffer, more than we are doing now.
The debt ceiling has already been raised 3 times under Obama and now he wants it increased for the 4th time in 2 1/2 years! He wants to increase taxes to pay for his out-of-control spending - yet there are 47% of Americans that pay no tax. His plan is to eliminate the middle class. The tax increases he is talking about putting in place, do not touch the companies he gave billions to in the bailout who currently make billions in profits and get billions in IRS tax breaks and refunds. He is talking about increasing tax on those making $250,000 and up (middle class) to completely break the middle class and leave only the ultra-rich and the poor. (socialism at it's finest) Obama has failed for 3 years to make a budget! He has spent over 4 trillion dollars in 2 1/2 years and his own budget at whitehouse.com shows that he expects the debt ceiling to go up to over 20 TRILLION within the next 5 years (although economists show that it would actually be closer to 25-30 trillion) We have a SPENDING PROBLEM - take away Obama's checkbook!
Actually the Debt Ceiling was increased 2 times under our President this will be the third in 3 years.
The Debt Ceiling was increased 7 times during the Bush Presidency and 17 times during Reagan's 2 terms. It has been raised 77 times in less than 50 years.
The Ryan budget plan increases the National debt to over 20 trillion also.
Boy, you've got a short memory Me-first 3646253. Two wars, Bush's prescription drug program for seniors and historic tax cuts built up the deficit, the Bush recession/near depression slashed revenues and created the need for bail outs and stimulus....and you blame Obama? Really?
I don’t presume to tell anyone else what to think, even though I can question how they may conclude what they do, especially when it is emotional or the obvious result of being manipulated. I simply say whatever when I feel there is a need for that view to be expressed. I rarely get into the back-n-forth bantering as I see that as a total waste of time that never changes anything and all too often is just egotistic “saber rattling”. Currently I recognize a real organized and very aggressive, orchestrated effort to spread a lot of propaganda from all different directions and with the obvious intent to influence people’s thinking and manipulate public opinion. There really is substantial money and a strong effort being spent just to con the public. As I see it, that should have the exact opposite affect and be seen as insulting in literally taking people for granted (and always with only the interests of the few in mind).
Examples that have turned me off (even to changing my registration from Republican to independent) and that simply go a long way towards identifying the actual deceptive intent:
The Democrats are certainly not perfect but really they are the only sane choice as the Republicans offer nothing but deception and their total focus on serving just the few and themselves. The Republican Party, with being “puppets” for those who “pull their strings”, are trying to return us to “more of the same”, Bush-Cheney style, and that would just be another catastrophe. The truth is clearly there to be seen by any who are willing to see it; hopefully that is the majority.
The debt crisis is kind of like that of the NFL... The House could be considered the NFLPA, or those working out the bill... While the Senate and President are the players who want more money...
Please remind everyone that President Reagan faced skyrocketing debt and increasing unemployment (peaked at 10.8%).
On September 3, 1982 President Reagan signed a bill that raised taxes.
January 1983 (4 months later) unemployment began coming down.
Keep telling this story. Force people to deal with the facts.
President Obama has mentioned the above fact many times, but the right keeps trying to tell Americans to ignore what President Reagan did when he faced a similar crisis.
Might I also remind you that at the time the house was vastly democratic they would have gotten no where without catering to the house democrats... Might I also remind you that Reagan raised taxes..., but he did not raise spending with it... Reaganomics calls for three top things.
1. Reduce Government spending growth
2. Reduce income and capital gains taxou
3.Reduce government Regulation, and lastly,
Obama's plan differs then Obama's
He wants tax hikes, but he doesn't want to cut spending. Also there will never be a chance where Obama doesn't stop regulating different people groups and what they do.
It is for these reasons why Obama's government can't run effectively when raising taxes reagan also cut spending and government regulation, which is why his tax increase plan workd
goprules, you are wrong. Reagan raised spending by quite a lot, especially on the military, and subsequently made us a debtor nation for the first time ever . . . not to mention more than doubling the debt. He also grew government more than any other president before him (from an historical 2% to over 5% during his terms).
Also, dude, your logic makes absolutely no sense, what-so-ever.
In all honesty all party have an agenda, but this uneducated TeaParty movement needs to understand that the only way to fix a slow economy is to invest money into it. Ideaology can't pay my bills. Or the bills of 50 million Americans that depend on this monthly check. These so called friends of the common man are people that are there for the money, EVERY ONE OF THEM! there is a reason PepsiCo didn't pay a drop of taxes on 4 BILLION in Gross Income!!!!!!!! Open Your Eyes.
WE DON'T COUNT ANYMORE!!!! Thank your kids for paying your SSI while Senators and House Reps don't pay for medical insurance anymore and give themselves raises. They are paying for a retirement they won't have. ALL PRAISE SENATOR BOEHNER AND THE DUMBASS IDEALOGUES!!!
JUST SO YOU HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN, THE WORLD ECONOMY IS BASED ON OUR ECONOMY... DOESN'T ANYONE UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS OF THESE PEOPLES ACTIONS ON YOUR PERSONAL FUTURE!!!!
ONCE AGAIN, IDEAS DON'T PROVIDE FOOD, IF YOUR TOO RICH TOO UNDRSTAND, YOUR TOO RICH TOO SERVE.
WE AS A COUNTRY DESERVE BETTER.
OUT
“But it has a political advantage because it was included in the budget blueprint House Republicans adopted this spring."
Right, the Ryan plan's 6.2 trillion in savings.
http://budget.house.gov/UploadedFiles/SummaryTables.pdf
Section S0-4, chart #2. Total savings from GWOT and Security? $0. Exactly the same number as $1,000,000,000,000... I guess.
Why did the House have it scored twice with different metrics?
http://budget.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=253640
"In order to provide a more relevant comparison, House Budget Committee Republicans provided a second estimate in Table S-4, comparing the House-passed budget to President Obama’s FY 2012 budget request. This comparison makes clear that, even with no savings attributed to the troop drawdown and with identical numbers to the President’s on the war on terror, the House-passed budget cuts spending by $6.2 trillion relative to the President’s request."
Anyone surprised that MSNBC didn't give the numbers, facts, sourcing, research, or any information from the conservative side? I guess they were too busy "leaning forward" to bother with 5 minutes of research.