So We Need A Debt Ceiling?

[The Rabbi]

I am not sure where the debt ceiling came from. It is not in the Constitution.
Moody's suggested the US would be better off without it. The WSJ editorial page points out that of all the things the debt celing does, controlling debt is not one of them.
Would we be better off not having a debt ceiling and concentrating on getting balanced budgets?

 

[editec]

I am not sure where the debt ceiling came from. It is not in the Constitution.
Moody's suggested the US would be better off without it. The WSJ editorial page points out that of all the things the debt celing does, controlling debt is not one of them.
Would we be better off not having a debt ceiling and concentrating on getting balanced budgets?

MY GOD!

We agree on something.

Clearly not all the miracles are in the Bible!

 

[The Rabbi]

I am not sure where the debt ceiling came from. It is not in the Constitution.
Moody's suggested the US would be better off without it. The WSJ editorial page points out that of all the things the debt celing does, controlling debt is not one of them.
Would we be better off not having a debt ceiling and concentrating on getting balanced budgets?

MY GOD!

We agree on something.

Clearly not all the miracles are in the Bible!

Who says I think we shouldn't havr a debt ceiling? No one.
But I am open to arguments for and against.

 

[Sallow]

Debt ceilings are preposterous.

 

[Truthmatters]

Its pretty easy to look up the information and history about the debt limit why did you never just invest some time in learning about it OP?

 

[LordBrownTrout]

A debt ceiling is supposed to show some sort of semblance to accountability and responsibility, neither of which exist anymore from our elected officials. There were two major events, creation of the fed, jumping off the gold standard, and now, our inability to live within our means, that will likely lead us into perilous waters within the next 5 or so years. We're right at the precipice now.

 

[Truthmatters]

United States public debt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Trajan]

A debt ceiling is supposed to show some sort of semblance to accountability and responsibility, neither of which exist anymore from our elected officials. There were two major events, creation of the fed, jumping off the gold standard, and now, our inability to live within our means, that will likely lead us into perilous waters within the next 5 or so years. We're right at the precipice now.

agreed.

 

[waltky]

Debt deal a setback for Obama?...

ANALYSIS: Obama suffers political setback in US debt deal
Thu, Aug 04, 2011 - US President Barack Obama suffered a defeat in the battle over raising the US debt limit that may have repercussions for his efforts to restore growth to the US economy and win re-election next year.

The outcome of the debt battle dismayed Obama’s liberal base just when he needs them for fundraising and support and emboldened his Republican adversaries who forced him to accept more spending cuts than he wanted. The debate also did nothing to help Obama clear his biggest hurdle to re-election — the country’s 9.2 percent jobless rate. In fact, it ratcheted up the bar by generating so much uncertainty that businesses sharply cut back investing and hiring.

Now Obama will likely turn his attention to a big push on measures to help the economy and keep it from dipping back into recession. That could include an extension of a payroll tax cut and approval of stalled trade deals with Panama, Colombia and South Korea. That, and time, could help him overcome the damage from the debt debate. It could, in fact, be a blip on the screen as voters consider Obama against a field of Republican candidates that many analysts see as weak. “I think he gets credit for being the reasonable guy in the room,” Democratic strategist Bob Shrum said. “I think he has to take a temporary hit looking like he wasn’t able to command the whole process.”

Americans seem to blame Republicans more for the crisis that almost drove the US to an unprecedented default and that will help Obama. A Reuters/Ipsos poll last week found 31 percent of Americans blamed Republicans for the debt impasse, while 21 percent blamed Obama. “Certainly he’s exposed in this,” Ipsos pollster Julia Clark said. “That all said, Americans do put more of the blame for the prolonged failure of these talks at the feet of Republican lawmakers, so they may bear the most brunt.”

Still, Obama was bruised in the debt struggle, forced to accept deep spending cuts without tax increases, as he had wanted. Looking to next year, that leaves him exposed on the left. “I don’t think he looks great,” said Jennifer Duffy, a political analyst at the non-partisan Cook Political Report. “One, obviously a lot of the progressive groups are unhappy. They think that he caved, that he gave Republicans whatever they wanted.”

More ANALYSIS: Obama suffers political setback in US debt deal - Taipei Times

See also:

What were two Republicans thinking, calling Obama 'tar baby' and 'boy'?
August 3, 2011 - Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado and commentator Pat Buchanan, a former candidate for president, both apologized Wednesday for using racially charged terms to refer to Obama.

The specter of two national Republican figures apologizing for calling President Obama, the first African-American president, alternately a "tar baby" and "boy" gave new fuel to speculation on the left that, underneath much of the criticism of the president and his policies, lurks the shadow of racism. Last week, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R) of Colorado, on a Denver talk radio show, said, “Even if some people say, ‘Well the Republicans should have done this or they should have done that,’ they will hold the president responsible. Now, I don’t even want to have to be associated with him. It’s like touching a tar baby and you get it, you’re stuck, and you’re a part of the problem now and you can’t get away.”

The term tar baby comes from the 19th century Uncle Remus stories, where B'rer Fox uses a doll made of a lump of tar to trap B'rer Rabbit, who gets more stuck the more he pummels and kicks the tar baby. In more recent parlance, tar baby is widely considered racial slur. Other Republicans, including Sen. John McCain and Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, have in recent years apologized for using the phrase "tar baby," although in reference to various government policies and projects, not a black man.

And then Tuesday night, former GOP presidential candidate and MSNBC contributor Pat Buchanan, in a tête-à-tête with the Rev. Al Sharpton, referred to Obama as "your boy." “My what?” Sharpton shot back. “My president, Barack Obama? What did you say?” Mr. Buchanan hinted that he was using a boxing analogy, replying that the president was "your boy in the ring." Lamborn, who apologized to Obama in a letter, said in a separate statement Wednesday that he shouldn't have used a term "that some find insensitive" and meant to criticize presidential policies that have "created an economic quagmire for the nation, and [which] are responsible for the dismal economic conditions our country faces."

“Some folks took what I said as some kind of a slur,” Buchanan said on Wednesday. “None was meant, none was intended, none was delivered.” Nevertheless, to some critics, the gaffes are illuminating bits of evidence to underscore what many believe is an essentially racist view of Obama by some in America's conservative circles.

MORE

 

[editec]

One man's debt ceiling is another man's accounts recievables floor.