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Saturday, July 16, 2011

Profound Deficiencies Plague Debt Limit Talks

Team Obama’s debt-limit negotiating position is fueled by a central non-sequitur, a core myth, and a spectacular oversight. Correcting these deficiencies would help Democrats and Republicans drain America’s Olympic pool of red ink without drowning the economy in tax hikes.

First, the idea that the federal debt ceiling must be raised in order to lower federal indebtedness is the logical equivalent of a high-speed train derailment. Debt-soaked American consumers do not beg credit-card companies to hike their borrowing limits. Instead, they freeze their credit thresholds and pay their debts, ideally until their finances are back in black.

Obama’s insistence on raising the debt limit is like saying, “You are right, MasterCard. I am tapped. So, I will forego theater tickets and skip my annual ski trip. Now, please raise my limit by $5,000.”

Congress should not hike the debt limit, period. The staggering sum of $14.3 trillion should remain the Everest of U.S. financial irresponsibility from which Uncle Sam must descend. This will be arduous, but far healthier than climbing into ever-more-vertiginous debt and triggering an all-consuming avalanche of unpayable bills.

Furthermore, the notion that leaving the debt limit intact will trigger default is another monstrous lie designed to bamboozle the American public and cow Republicans into retreat. As with a credit card, default requires neglecting one’s bills rather than respecting a debt cap. If Visa refuses to augment a customer’s credit line, default only occurs if he stops making minimum payments.

America must do this.

For Fiscal Year 2011, Treasury expects $2.23 trillion in revenues, from which it must pay bond holders $213 billion in interest. As Senator Pat Toomey (R – Pennsylvania) explains, if Treasury can manage this, America will not default.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Obama has no intention of correcting the out of control spending. He keeps placing reduculous obsticles to making any kind deal and then blames Republicans.
Obama, where are you SPECIFIC proposals?
Obama, how do you plane to prevent this again in a year or two the the debt ceiling is raised?
Obama, why do you take the largest part of the spending off the table like Obamacare, Social security, and other entitlement programs?
Obama, why do you storm out of meetings like a little child when you don't get your way?
Obama, when will you admit that socialism doesn't work now, hasn't worked in the past, and won't ever work in the future?
Obama, the people are wise to your lies.
Obama, you're a lame duck President and you know it.

Anonymous said...

Well, you know how to spell obammys name but not much else. You really do sound like a broken record.

There is a general concenus agreeing with how you feel about obammy. There is no need to waste your time as well as ours with such drivel. Seriously.

Try to bring it up a notch. Joe and staff post some really good stories now and then. Some of the comments really bring the quality down.

Not just you but others as well try to sound clever, make a point or whatever when in reality they are quite boring and uninformed.

Unless you're new here the 'thrill' of seeing your comment should be gone by now. Try saying something worth reading instead of just getting published on a blog.

Anonymous said...

11:53
I noticed you didn't dispute anything I wrote, you just attacked me.
So, where's Obama's plan?
Why is the biggest budget breaker entitlement (Obamacare 1.5 trillion of defecit spending)off the table?
You libs can't argue facts, you loose every time.