America's Debt: Shame on Them

[Wry Catcher]

I'm not relying on anything. We need to be responsible and accountable for our actions. By continually raising the limit and never paying it off is irresponsible.

And defaulting our debt is going to make it all better? Let me ask you LBT, if you defaulted on 30% of your credit card payments, what would happen to your credit score?

And, If I might add, how would the cost of credit (if you could get it) be effected by your credit score? Not a good way to reduce a debt.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

I'm not relying on anything. We need to be responsible and accountable for our actions. By continually raising the limit and never paying it off is irresponsible.

And defaulting our debt is going to make it all better? Let me ask you LBT, if you defaulted on 30% of your credit card payments, what would happen to your credit score?

If I quit paying, yes, I would default and my credit rating would take a hit. That's not in question. However, if I'm asking the bank that provides my cc to continuously raise my debt limit from $1000 to eventually $500,000.....I'll never be able to pay it off. The responsible thing to do is pay off the debt and put a cap on the debt limit. Continuously raising it to service interest is completely asinine. It does not compute. I've built up and sold two companies and am working on a third. If I operated at which the federal govt operates I would have been living under a bridge years ago.

 

[Modbert]

What, in your opinion bert, is it going to take to teach Washington a lesson? What is it going to take to get them to spend within their means?

Default sounds good to me.

Playing russian roulette with a full chamber is not a good way to teach anyone a lesson. You seem to have no idea of the implications of what would happen if we didn't raise the debt ceiling. Washington wouldn't suffer, average Americans like you and me would.

 

[Modbert]

I didn't ignore it bert, I read it, and the liberal hackery and spin in it made me sick.

I don't need to read absolute liberal biased garbage to know why we're in the situation we're in. It's due in part to BOTH parties and their spending. However, the spending that has gone on in the last two and half years under your messiah and the libs has made a bad situation ten times worse than it should be.

That's a fact, period, end of story. Shame on EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY obama and the dems for doing what they did TO MAKE IT WORSE.

I guess you decided to not read the article then.

The House of Representatives, under Republican control as a result of last November’s mid-term elections, has balked at passing the necessary bill. That is perfectly reasonable: until recently the Republicans had been exercising their clear electoral mandate to hold the government of Barack Obama to account, insisting that they will not permit a higher debt ceiling until agreement is reached on wrenching cuts to public spending. Until they started to play hardball in this way, Mr Obama had been deplorably insouciant about the medium-term picture, repeatedly failing in his budgets and his state-of-the-union speeches to offer any path to a sustainable deficit. Under heavy Republican pressure, he has been forced to rethink.

Both parties have in recent months been guilty of fiscal recklessness. Right now, though, the blame falls clearly on the Republicans. Independent voters should take note.

Sounds like Liberal propaganda to me.

 

[Modbert]

If I quit paying, yes, I would default and my credit rating would take a hit. That's not in question. However, if I'm asking the bank that provides my cc to continuously raise my debt limit from $1000 to eventually $500,000.....I'll never be able to pay it off. The responsible thing to do is pay off the debt and put a cap on the debt limit. Continuously raising it to service interest is completely asinine. It does not compute. I've built up and sold two companies and am working on a third. If I operated at which the federal govt operates I would have been living under a bridge years ago.

Before I address the however, let me continue my line of question. And what happens when your credit rating takes a hit? Is it not more difficult to get any sort of loans in the future? Do your interest rates not rise, making it more difficult for you to pay back your current and future loans?

Letting the same thing happen here would be akin to shooting ourselves in the face.

What we need to do is hammer out a deal, and the President has offered up more than a fair deal to the GOP. Raise the debt ceiling, and then handle more cuts from there. Dealing with it in zero hour because Congress is irresponsible is no reason to punish our creditors or the American people.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

What, in your opinion bert, is it going to take to teach Washington a lesson? What is it going to take to get them to spend within their means?

Default sounds good to me.

Playing russian roulette with a full chamber is not a good way to teach anyone a lesson. You seem to have no idea of the implications of what would happen if we didn't raise the debt ceiling. Washington wouldn't suffer, average Americans like you and me would.

You will only suffer once Media Matters point out that you should be suffering. If you were aware at all, you'd would have know that Trillion plus deficits plus having Social Programs underfunded in the trillion column will not work out for "average Americans like you and me"

The difference is you only feel pain when told to.

 

[DontBeStupid]

It's due in part to BOTH parties and their spending. However, the spending that has gone on in the last two and half years under your messiah and the libs has made a bad situation ten times worse than it should be.

That's a fact, period, end of story. Shame on EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY obama and the dems for doing what they did TO MAKE IT WORSE.

Again, how? Why? You keep making claims about our situation being worse because of our growing debt, but you never say HOW it's worse or WHY it's worse.

Merely making a claim about something being bad doesn't make it bad.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

It's due in part to BOTH parties and their spending. However, the spending that has gone on in the last two and half years under your messiah and the libs has made a bad situation ten times worse than it should be.

That's a fact, period, end of story. Shame on EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY obama and the dems for doing what they did TO MAKE IT WORSE.

Again, how? Why? You keep making claims about our situation being worse because of our growing debt, but you never say HOW it's worse or WHY it's worse.

Merely making a claim about something being bad doesn't make it bad.

Right, deficits are only bad when they're Reagans; Obama deficits are da Bomb!!

 

[DontBeStupid]

f you were aware at all, you'd would have know that Trillion plus deficits plus having Social Programs underfunded in the trillion column will not work out for "average Americans like you and me"

Again, why? How? Just because you claim it doesn't make it true.

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

f you were aware at all, you'd would have know that Trillion plus deficits plus having Social Programs underfunded in the trillion column will not work out for "average Americans like you and me"

Again, why? How? Just because you claim it doesn't make it true.

How? Why? If you can't figure that out for yourself you don't belong on this or any other political forum.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

And when the next debt ceiling is met VERY shortly...then what?
Right - we raise it again and again and again.
It has to stop. It HAS to stop.
Everyone can agree on one thing - unfunded Social Security, medicare/aid obligations will reach 100% of GDP in our lifetime or our childrens lifetime.
And THEN we can talk default. THEN we will default for sure.

Personally, I am 100% OK with dealing with significant pain in the next 5-10 years if it means this country will reverse it's gross irresponsible spending habits and get our financial house back in order.

or - we can ignore our unsustainable spending (again) and face dire circumstances that everyone knows is coming.

Except a deal is going to be made to lessen the debt. Furthermore, you're okay with dealing with significant pain for the next 5-10 years but are trying to say that everything will be a-okay if we don't raise the debt ceiling. We both know of the consequences if we don't raise the debt ceiling. It will only make it more difficult to pay off our debt in both the short and long term.

I also notice you have no comment about S&P saying they will lower our credit rating to a D.

No they won't. That is just their diamond clad tie clips rattling out of fear they won't be able to continue ripping off taxpayers if the government is serious about reigning in corruption and giving taxpayer money to them to loan it back to us.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

It's due in part to BOTH parties and their spending. However, the spending that has gone on in the last two and half years under your messiah and the libs has made a bad situation ten times worse than it should be.

That's a fact, period, end of story. Shame on EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY obama and the dems for doing what they did TO MAKE IT WORSE.

Again, how? Why? You keep making claims about our situation being worse because of our growing debt, but you never say HOW it's worse or WHY it's worse.

Merely making a claim about something being bad doesn't make it bad.

You should change your name to "I'm Stupid".

 

[boedicca]

wasn't this posted in another thread?

and in 3 weeks they will not go into default, they will shuffle the revenue 'ins' to pay the interest 'outs' on debt., and start cutting down on sending checks out to or funding operating budgets.

The government collects plenty of tax receipts each month to service the debt. The Real Issue for the Dems (as noted by Geithner), is that if the debt ceiling is not increased, the Dems could not prevent the government from shrinking.

The government needs to shrink. We can't afford to pay for it. That's the problem.

 

[boedicca]

It's due in part to BOTH parties and their spending. However, the spending that has gone on in the last two and half years under your messiah and the libs has made a bad situation ten times worse than it should be.

That's a fact, period, end of story. Shame on EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY obama and the dems for doing what they did TO MAKE IT WORSE.

Again, how? Why? You keep making claims about our situation being worse because of our growing debt, but you never say HOW it's worse or WHY it's worse.

Merely making a claim about something being bad doesn't make it bad.

You should change your name to "I'm Stupid".

Yes, he should, but without the apostrophe. That would be more fitting.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

f you were aware at all, you'd would have know that Trillion plus deficits plus having Social Programs underfunded in the trillion column will not work out for "average Americans like you and me"

Again, why? How? Just because you claim it doesn't make it true.

Run home and get your Playbook from the 1980's, Dear

 

[code1211]

I maxed out a cc in college, asked for a higher limit, was denied, and then I continued to pay off my debt. I never defaulted. I'm just not getting all this trumped up end of the world, armageddon stuff if we don't raise the limit. If anything, it will show that we're serious that we're gonna STOP racking up debt.

Imagine your power bill was being automatically charged to that card. You hit your limit, and didn't have the cash to pay the bill or pay down the card.

You refuse to increase your limit.

How long before your power is turned off?

Instead of imagining that, imagine you are an alcoholic and your liquor bill is charged to that card. Maybe you sober up and change your ways.

 

[code1211]

That exact scenario happened when I was in college. I called the electric company and worked out a deal to where I could pay reduced payments until I could afford the monthly bill. My service was never cut off. The key was that I took initiative and worked with the utility company.

And are you going to rely on hoping that the same thing happens here?

You're right. Relying on people who have proven they are incapable with plans that are inadequate and programs that are misguided and misdirected is just plain stupid.

Hoping they will correct fiscal problems with plans that we all know won't work before the liars and theives even try to say they are what they are not is simply an exercise in hope triumphing over experience.

Are you seriously trying to make us believe that the folks in Washington will cut spending if they are not forced to do so?

On what do you base this conclusion?

 

[Modbert]

You're right. Relying on people who have proven they are incapable with plans that are inadequate and programs that are misguided and misdirected is just plain stupid.

Hoping they will correct fiscal problems with plans that we all know won't work before the liars and theives even try to say they are what they are not is simply an exercise in hope triumphing over experience.

Are you seriously trying to make us believe that the folks in Washington will cut spending if they are not forced to do so?

On what do you base this conclusion?

Do you plan on making on partaking in the discussion or are you just going to have a conversation with yourself?

The folks in Washington would cut spending if the people who vote for them say to do so. Otherwise they would be voted out. I don't think playing russian roulette with a full chamber when it comes to the economy is the smartest way of cutting spending. All you have is people acting irrational by saying we shouldn't raise the debt ceiling.

 

[WillowTree]

America's debt: Shame on them | The Economist

IN THREE weeks, if there is no political deal, the American government will go into default. Not, one must pray, on its sovereign debt. But the country will have to stop paying someone: perhaps pensioners, or government suppliers, or soldiers. That would be damaging enough at a time of economic fragility. And the longer such a default went on, the greater the risk of provoking a genuine bond crisis would become.

There is no good economic reason why this should be happening. America’s net indebtedness is a perfectly affordable 65% of GDP, and throughout the past three years of recession and tepid recovery investors have been more than happy to go on lending to the federal government. The current problems, rather, are political. Under America’s elaborate separation of powers, Congress must authorise any extension of the debt ceiling, which now stands at $14.3 trillion. Back in May the government bumped up against that limit, but various accounting dodges have been used to keep funds flowing. It is now reckoned that these wheezes will be exhausted by August 2nd.

Now, however, the Republicans are pushing things too far. Talks with the administration ground to a halt last month, despite an offer from the Democrats to cut at least $2 trillion and possibly much more out of the budget over the next ten years. Assuming that the recovery continues, that would be enough to get the deficit back to a prudent level. As The Economist went to press, Mr Obama seemed set to restart the talks.

The sticking-point is not on the spending side. It is because the vast majority of Republicans, driven on by the wilder-eyed members of their party and the cacophony of conservative media, are clinging to the position that not a single cent of deficit reduction must come from a higher tax take. This is economically illiterate and disgracefully cynical.

And the closer you look, the more unprincipled the Republicans look. Earlier this year House Republicans produced a report noting that an 85%-15% split between spending cuts and tax rises was the average for successful fiscal consolidations, according to historical evidence. The White House is offering an 83%-17% split (hardly a huge distance) and a promise that none of the revenue increase will come from higher marginal rates, only from eliminating loopholes. If the Republicans were real tax reformers, they would seize this offer.

Both parties have in recent months been guilty of fiscal recklessness. Right now, though, the blame falls clearly on the Republicans. Independent voters should take note.

The article sums up the current situation quite well.

You should have given this a thought BEFORE you voted for obiedoodle. He told you he was spend money out his wazoooo but you voted for him anyway


He tooka bad situation and made it worse by ten fold. Unemployment 9.2% and climbing..

 

[Modbert]

You should have given this a thought BEFORE you voted for obiedoodle. He told you he was spend money out his wazoooo but you voted for him anyway


He tooka bad situation and made it worse by ten fold. Unemployment 9.2% and climbing..

Except I didn't vote for Obama. Insert another quarter and try again.