Solve the US Debt Crisis

[kyzr]

What was it that Rohm Emanuel used to say? Something like "never waste an emergency"

I hope that they don't agree on raising the Debt Ceiling, and the dems need to run the government on about $2.5-trillion a year. More than enough money.

Here are a few links to see how the pols think...

Debt Commission Recommendations
The Plan to Balance the Budget: The Fiscal Commission's Final Report - Derek Thompson - Business - The Atlantic

Debt Limit Negotiations-
WRAPUP 1-U.S. debt talks enter make-or-break week | Reuters

Lets see how we'd vote given the choices...

 

[PLYMCO_PILGRIM]

What was it that Rohm Emanuel used to say? Something like "never waste an emergency"

I hope that they don't agree on raising the Debt Ceiling, and the dems need to run the government on about $2.5-trillion a year. More than enough money.

Here are a few links to see how the pols think...

Debt Commission Recommendations
The Plan to Balance the Budget: The Fiscal Commission's Final Report - Derek Thompson - Business - The Atlantic

Debt Limit Negotiations-
WRAPUP 1-U.S. debt talks enter make-or-break week | Reuters

Lets see how we'd vote given the choices...

rip the band aid off.

Dont raise the ceiling and deal with the fallout....it will suck but we have to do it someday why wait?

 

[FuelRod]

Don't spend more than you take in.
And you can't raise your prices when revenues go down. Any business knows that.

 

[PLYMCO_PILGRIM]

Don't spend more than you take in.
And you can't raise your prices when revenues go down. Any business knows that.

ZOMG you deserve the nobel.......seriously though the first leader to do this might really get it considering how easy people have been getting them recently.


Dont spend more than you take in, the key to success in anything you do.

 

[uptownlivin90]

It's funny to me how once the money supply to the empire seems to be running short Obama and the Dems become end times prophets with pat robinson-like visions of the coming apocalypse.

I say BRING IT ON!!

Don't raise the Debt Cieling!

 

[snjmom]

You forgot legalize weed and tax derivatives like lotto winnings. Considering they aren't an actual investment in any company and are just side bets.

 

[waltky]

Granny says we already drownin' in debt...

Top economist: Raise the debt ceiling or blow the recovery 'out of the water'
June 28, 2011 Washington - The US economy will double its growth rate by the end of the year, if Congress raises the debt ceiling, says economic forecaster Mark Zandi. Otherwise, 'we would be thrown into recession.'

Mark Zandi, a prominent economic forecaster, says the US economy will gather steam in the second six months of 2011 – unless Congress fails to raise the government debt limit. In that case, “we go into recession, and my forecast would be blown out of the water,” he said Tuesday at a Monitor-hosted breakfast for reporters. The chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, Dr. Zandi expects economic output to be growing at about a 4 percent rate by the end of 2011, versus 1.9 percent in the first three months of the year. “Weights on the economy are lifting,” he said, referring to diminishing effects of higher oil and food prices, as well as the impact of the Japanese tsunami on auto production. Zandi remains wary of the return of high gas prices, he says, and thinks unemployment will fall slowly, but he remains cautiously optimistic about the overall economic recovery.

But Zandi's relatively upbeat outlook would change abruptly if Congress and the Obama administration fail to agree on a plan to raise the federal debt ceiling by August 2, requiring the government to dramatically curtail operations. “If we get to August 2 and there is no debt ceiling limit, and there has to be significant spending cuts – even if Congress and the administration reverse themselves days later, I think the damage will have been serious, and we probably would be thrown into a recession,” Zandi said. Why would even a short government shutdown have such a major impact? It's psychology, Zandi says. “The collective psyche is extremely fragile, I think. As I talk to business people in every industry across the country, they are extraordinarily nervous. That’s why if anything goes slightly wrong, the negative consequences are amplified.”

Business executives are not the only ones whose confidence is shaky. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Wednesday that confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly fell in June to a seven-month low. One factor in declining consumer confidence: a tough job market. The percent of respondents expecting an increase in job availability fell to the lowest in 11 months, the business group said. While confident about economic growth, Zandi said the jobless rate will be slow to decline, a which could pose a major problem for President Obama’s re-election prospects. He expects unemployment to close out 2011 at 9 percent. “I do think that by next year, though, we will have enough job growth [to] more than absorb the folks coming into the labor force," he said. "Unemployment will fall. By year’s end 2012, I expect an unemployment rate that is closer to 8 percent.”

Failure to reach agreement on a debt ceiling increase is not the only major risk to the economy. “For my optimism to come to pass, a number of key assumptions have to hold,” Zandi said. “One is that $4 dollars for a gallon of regular unleaded was the peak for the year… If oil prices rise again, then I think my optimism would fade pretty fast. Nothing is worse for the economy than higher gasoline prices.” Zandi is well regarded by both parties in Washington. He advised John McCain's presidential campaign and also has advised members of the Obama administration. The Wall Street Journal referred to him as "the de facto chief economist to Congress."

Source

See also:

Think Congress has a month to avert Debt Default Day? Think again.
June 28, 2011 Washington - The House and the Senate are in session simultaneously only a few days between now and Aug. 2, when the US is expected to hit its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. That's not helpful, experts say.

Question: How many days are the House and Senate in session at the same time between now and Aug. 2, when the US will no longer be able to borrow to pay its bills unless Congress raises the national debt ceiling? Answer: nine. That's not a lot of time left for Republicans and Democrats to come to terms. Republicans say they won't raise the national debt limit, currently set at $14.3 trillion, without deep spending cuts or triggers to bring down the federal deficit. The calendar is working against lawmakers, however. The House opted this year to take a week off before the July 4 holiday, and the Senate takes a break after. This House is off again for another work period back in member districts the week of July 1; the Senate stays is in town, and so on.

That new two-weeks-in, one-week-home calendar is the work of the House Republican majority, notably majority leader Eric Cantor (R) of Virginia. He has said he wanted to give members more predictability in their legislative and district work. Many members say they like it, including saving on flight changes at the last minute. But critics charge that the out-of-sync congressional calendars are not conducive to getting things done in Washington, especially with an impending debt crisis. “Congress and the president should be staying in town until they get a deal done: no deal, no break,” says David Walker, former US Comptroller and founding member of No Labels, a nonpartisan advocacy group. In fact, most of the 535 members of Congress will never see the inside of the back room where a deal will eventually be cut on raising the national debt limit in time to avoid default. The breakdown of the debt talks led by Vice President Joe Biden last Thursday punted the negotiations to an even more elite leadership group, including President Obama.

While a deal will be worked out by the chosen few, there remains the formidable job of rallying members to agree to it – or to feel invested enough in the process to support the outcome. “It’s not just an issue of trying to cut a deal between the White House and the Congress,” Mr. Walker adds. “Work has got to be done to bring along the extremes of both caucuses. They are not going to be happy to be presented with a fait accompli deal.” Moreover, time lawmakers spent in Washington, engaging with colleagues rather than facing down organized protests at home, can help a move toward consensus on resolving a debt crisis that is sure to require tough choices and votes. “There is a benefit to members of Congress not going back to their districts, where activist organizations will be ready to put pressure on them to say no to a deal,” says Julian Zelizer, a congressional historian at Princeton University in Princeton, N.J.

“Ultimately, a lot of members are going to have to make decisions that people in their districts will not like,” he adds. “There is a virtue in staying in Washington longer. It’s strategically better to sit down with another legislator [saying] ‘here’s a compromise we can live with,’ rather than hearing someone yelling in a room.” In the end, the deal can be cut with the vast majority of 535 lawmakers out of the room, but it can’t be approved without them. To move a House and Senate far apart on taxes, spending, and entitlements, it helps to be there. “The key is what are you doing in order to make sure you can get a majority vote in the House Republican caucus, a majority in the House, 60 in the Senate, and a presidential signature,” says Walker. “A lot of work needs to be done between now and Aug. 2.”

Source

 

[freedombecki]

I'm not an expert in finances, but I know one thing: making all the people prop up bad banks was not the best idea out there, but when the propped-up leftist banks that enjoyed the wealth provided by the sweat of moms and pops, they gave themselves more money than a lot of people make in a lifetime as bonuses at years-end, that made me mad.

I'm not an expert in changing the guard, but I think it's time to throw the so-called leaders who made that one happen need to go down at the voting polls in 2012.

 

[American Legacy]

How about dramatic spending cuts in the federal budget? Or is spending less on discretionary items to avoid defaulting on debt payments too difficult a concept for the lawyers in Congress to grasp?

 

[Avorysuds]

I didn't like any of the options... I think we need bigger cuts than like let’s say 20% to Defense spending and that we need to phase out SS... Stuff like that.

 

[asaratis]

...is a reduction in the quantity of government employees..at all levels of government. It will be difficult to implement such a plan due to the reluctance of government employees to get out and get a real fucking PRODUCTIVE job! They are entrenched in the system and really appreciate (laughing all the way to the bank will their ill-gotten gains) their free ride on the backs of taxpaying citizens.

Big government SUCKS! Neither do we need it nor can we afford it!

 

[asaratis]

I didn't like any of the options... I think we need bigger cuts than like let’s say 20% to Defense spending and that we need to phase out SS... Stuff like that.

I think you are totally full of shit! We need to produce, train and maintain the mightiest defense system on the face of the earth...as we have for many years! We need to take care of the elderly that have given us what we cherish..the greatest country on earth! The current SS system has problems that could be solved with DECREASES in the control that big government has over what is done with the money, how it is amassed, invested and distributed to those that deserve it. Give the control back to the people!

 

[waltky]

Obama tellin' `em to get onna stick an' get `er done...

Obama to Congress: Do your job
June 29, 2011: With the clock ticking down, President Obama told lawmakers in no uncertain terms Wednesday that he expects them to deliver a compromise deal to raise the debt ceiling. "At a certain point," Obama said. "They need to do their job."

WASHINGTON – In a blunt challenge to Republicans in Congress, President Barack Obama insisted Wednesday that elimination of selected tax breaks for oil companies and the super-wealthy must be included in any deficit reduction plan. "You stay here. Let's get it done," he all-but-lectured lawmakers, holding open the possibility of keeping Congress in Washington unless there is significant progress by week's end on a deal to cut deficits, raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit and avert a threatened financial crisis. He said a plan must be in place by Aug. 2, a date he called "a hard deadline."

Obama drew a swift rebuttal from House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who issued a statement saying, "The president is sorely mistaken if he believes a bill to raise the debt ceiling and raise taxes would pass the House. The votes simply aren't there - and they aren't going to be there, because the American people know tax hikes destroy jobs." At his first White House news conference in three months, lasting a little over an hour, Obama also called on Congress to renew a payroll tax cut that took effect on Jan 1, one of several steps he said lawmakers can take quickly to help reduce 9.1 percent unemployment. Although he declined to announce support for legalizing gay marriage, he defended his record on rights for homosexual Americans, saying he had done more to advance their cause than any of his 43 presidential predecessors.

On the deficit and economy, Obama said both parties must be prepared to "take on their sacred cows" as part of the negotiations, with Democrats accepting cuts in government programs. At the same time, he said any agreement must include increased government revenue. Attempting to blunt Republican criticism, he said he also wants to extend existing middle class tax cuts. "The tax cuts I'm proposing we get rid of are tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, tax breaks for oil companies and hedge fund companies and jet owners," he said.

MORE

See also:

IMF urges US lawmakers to raise $14.3T debt limit
29 June`11 WASHINGTON – The International Monetary Fund warned U.S. lawmakers Wednesday that a failure to raise the nation's borrowing limit would pose serious risks to the global economy and financial markets.

The U.S. last month reached its $14.3 trillion borrowing limit. The U.S. Treasury has said that it can keep the country operating for a couple months by employing various bookkeeping maneuvers. But if Congress doesn't raise the borrowing limit by Aug. 2, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said the country will default on its debt. John Lipsky, acting managing director of the IMF, said a default "would have very serious and far-reaching consequences." It would rattle markets and send interest rates soaring, making mortgages and other consumer loans more expensive. Lipsky expressed confidence that Congress will reach a deal before that happens.

A sharp divide among lawmakers over how to rein in the federal budget deficit has kept Congress from raising the borrowing limit. Republicans want President Barack Obama and Democrats to agree on spending cuts equal to any increase in the borrowing limit. Democrats say the deficit-reduction deal must also include some tax increases. The IMF said enacting steep spending cuts or tax increases too quickly could hamper the U.S. recovery. It advocated raising the borrowing limit and implementing a long-term deficit-reduction strategy.

President Obama on Wednesday said that eliminating selected tax breaks for oil companies and the super-wealthy must be part of any deficit reduction plan. He also said that a bipartisan agreement is possible to cut deficits, raise the government's debt limit and avert a threatened financial crisis. Obama said both Democrats and Republicans must be prepared to "take on their sacred cows" as part of the deficit-reduction negotiations. Republicans say they will not support any proposal that raises taxes. Geithner strongly criticized a Republican proposal that would prioritize interest payments on the nation's debt and cut spending rather than raise the borrowing limit.

More IMF urges US lawmakers to raise $14.3T debt limit - Yahoo! News

 

[Wiseacre]

I think we need to raise the debt ceiling or risk a double dip recession. It's all well and good to live within your means, and not spend more than you take in, but there's a lot of people who are dependent on that money. I think we need to reduce the dependency as much as possible, but not right away. Do it a little more gradually. I'd be looking at 100 or 200 billion in cuts in FY2012 and thereafter until the budget is balanced. Plus, I'd require additional cuts in the next fiscal year to match any overruns in this year's spending.

Sorry dems, no tax hikes until the economy gets going (GDP over 3% sustained) and unemployment goes below 7%. I think we should trade off tax subsidies and breaks for special interests with tax rate cuts so the overall effect is neutral. Going to a flat tax with no deductions would work for me.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Nothing will truly address the debt problem without cutting entitlements.
Period.
The President is not serious about cutting deficit spending, that was obvious today. All he could talk about was raising taxes on millionaires. Which is irresponsible as well dishonest of a national leader to play the rhetoric tune over and over.

But what can you expect? Obama is a politician first and foremost.

 

[Big Black Dog]

Why borrow any money? Simple process. Don't spend more than you collect in taxes.

 

[whitehall]

Don't fall for these made up push polls. They offer a limited number of options designed to get the desired opinion. Here's a thought, review the bureaucratic mess the federal government is in with conflicting and do-nothing committies and sub-committies and sub-sub committies. Who could follow a 3,000 page law the size of a novel which contains God knows what that the democrats passed in the middle of the night? Rethink the global warming theory with a consideration that we table all restrictions on American energy until the US gets back on it's feet.

 

[Flopper]

I'm not an expert in finances, but I know one thing: making all the people prop up bad banks was not the best idea out there, but when the propped-up leftist banks that enjoyed the wealth provided by the sweat of moms and pops, they gave themselves more money than a lot of people make in a lifetime as bonuses at years-end, that made me mad.

I'm not an expert in changing the guard, but I think it's time to throw the so-called leaders who made that one happen need to go down at the voting polls in 2012.

What are leftist-banks? I though they took everybody's money.

 

[whitehall]

I'm not an expert in finances, but I know one thing: making all the people prop up bad banks was not the best idea out there, but when the propped-up leftist banks that enjoyed the wealth provided by the sweat of moms and pops, they gave themselves more money than a lot of people make in a lifetime as bonuses at years-end, that made me mad.

I'm not an expert in changing the guard, but I think it's time to throw the so-called leaders who made that one happen need to go down at the voting polls in 2012.

What are leftist-banks? I though they took everybody's money.

If you think banks "take your money" you need to put Stalin's picture up instead of using an old photo of Bogart.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

Everybody knows that hey key to recovery is confiscating 100% of the earnings of 1% of the population so 50% can pay nothing and we can enact a new multi-trillion $$ entitlement every few years or so.

Come on man!