I completely agree with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Biden owes the American people an explanation now, today. Biden should be able to handle more than one or two things a day. The people holding the US hostage are also the people who participated in the planning of January 6. Why would anyone want to negotiate with any of them?
There is one thing AOC mentioned that is incorrect. It’s not just the US economy being held for hostage. It is the WORLD economy. When a giant rolls over, everyone feels the effects. This dangerous and stupid GQP stunt will cripple all nations. Biden needs to pay up, today, using the 14th amendment! People will die if he doesn’t act upon it.
What is missing from the discourse, for the most part, is the simplest solution to the deficit problem that is driving the RepubliQans to tank the economy: repealing the reckless Trump and Bush Jr tax cuts. While we’re at it, we should repeal the Reagan tax cuts, too.
Unfortunately, the RepubliQans have boxed the Democrats in because they will scream and wail all the way to November ’24 that “Democrats want to RAISE YOUR TAXES.” They know the Democrats are literally so afraid of being labeled this way that they won’t bring up repealing those tax cuts that caused this mess. AOC came closest last week when she spoke about ending the tax cuts for “yachts and private planes.” But, she didn’t go far enough.
Here’s the real game that’s afoot: today’s Libertarian-Republicans, hating all government programs that help the majority of our citizens, and unable to end them by any legitimate means, see this moment as their golden opportunity to actually destroy the Federal government and all those loathsome programs. They are quite willing to achieve their goal--from Norquist’s “drown government in a bathtub” to Bannon’s “destroy the administrative state”--through refusing to raise the debt ceiling.
Pres. Biden will not let that happen. As I understand it, the negotiations are on future spending, not cuts now. Those negotiations need to include repealing the Trump, Bush Jr, and even the Reagan tax cuts. We have seen the resurrection of “voodoo economics” just this week, with GOP representatives claiming that cutting taxes increases revenue. It never will.
Running up the deficit during GOP-controlled Administrations (Reagan, Bush Jr, Trump--especially Trump) isn’t something that happens because “they don’t care about the deficit when they’re in control”, it’s because the higher they take it, the more leverage they think they have when they’re not in control. They love it when they’re in power, and they love it more when they’re not. Their policies over the last 40+ years have culminated in this moment.
If it takes invoking the 14th Amendment, then Pres. Biden must do it.
I did hear a few days ago that while Yellin cannot prioritize payments for most obligations, bond interest is paid thru a separate system. Would it be too cynical of me to believe that if this is in fact the case, Treasury would be able to, and actually would, prioritize payments to billionaire bondholders while Veterans, Senior Citizens, Federal Employees and all the rest suffer?
Yet, Most Americans are so woefully uninformed, that they have NO idea how "any of this works". The American Public votes based, not on experience and integrity, knowledge and Character, but on "popularity". We are a Country of Fools and I don't see that ending anytime soon. ( I'm starting to believe a basic "American Citizen" test is a good idea.)
If over 70,000,000 people "felt" or "thought" Dick A'la Orange is a viable "choice" for President of the United States of America, that should tell you everything we need to know.
I just read an article in the Washington Post regarding Biden's really poor messaging on the debt ceiling:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/05/24/debt-ceiling-negotiations-house-democrats/
I completely agree with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Biden owes the American people an explanation now, today. Biden should be able to handle more than one or two things a day. The people holding the US hostage are also the people who participated in the planning of January 6. Why would anyone want to negotiate with any of them?
There is one thing AOC mentioned that is incorrect. It’s not just the US economy being held for hostage. It is the WORLD economy. When a giant rolls over, everyone feels the effects. This dangerous and stupid GQP stunt will cripple all nations. Biden needs to pay up, today, using the 14th amendment! People will die if he doesn’t act upon it.
What is missing from the discourse, for the most part, is the simplest solution to the deficit problem that is driving the RepubliQans to tank the economy: repealing the reckless Trump and Bush Jr tax cuts. While we’re at it, we should repeal the Reagan tax cuts, too.
Unfortunately, the RepubliQans have boxed the Democrats in because they will scream and wail all the way to November ’24 that “Democrats want to RAISE YOUR TAXES.” They know the Democrats are literally so afraid of being labeled this way that they won’t bring up repealing those tax cuts that caused this mess. AOC came closest last week when she spoke about ending the tax cuts for “yachts and private planes.” But, she didn’t go far enough.
Here’s the real game that’s afoot: today’s Libertarian-Republicans, hating all government programs that help the majority of our citizens, and unable to end them by any legitimate means, see this moment as their golden opportunity to actually destroy the Federal government and all those loathsome programs. They are quite willing to achieve their goal--from Norquist’s “drown government in a bathtub” to Bannon’s “destroy the administrative state”--through refusing to raise the debt ceiling.
Pres. Biden will not let that happen. As I understand it, the negotiations are on future spending, not cuts now. Those negotiations need to include repealing the Trump, Bush Jr, and even the Reagan tax cuts. We have seen the resurrection of “voodoo economics” just this week, with GOP representatives claiming that cutting taxes increases revenue. It never will.
Running up the deficit during GOP-controlled Administrations (Reagan, Bush Jr, Trump--especially Trump) isn’t something that happens because “they don’t care about the deficit when they’re in control”, it’s because the higher they take it, the more leverage they think they have when they’re not in control. They love it when they’re in power, and they love it more when they’re not. Their policies over the last 40+ years have culminated in this moment.
If it takes invoking the 14th Amendment, then Pres. Biden must do it.
I did hear a few days ago that while Yellin cannot prioritize payments for most obligations, bond interest is paid thru a separate system. Would it be too cynical of me to believe that if this is in fact the case, Treasury would be able to, and actually would, prioritize payments to billionaire bondholders while Veterans, Senior Citizens, Federal Employees and all the rest suffer?
Yet, Most Americans are so woefully uninformed, that they have NO idea how "any of this works". The American Public votes based, not on experience and integrity, knowledge and Character, but on "popularity". We are a Country of Fools and I don't see that ending anytime soon. ( I'm starting to believe a basic "American Citizen" test is a good idea.)
If over 70,000,000 people "felt" or "thought" Dick A'la Orange is a viable "choice" for President of the United States of America, that should tell you everything we need to know.
Republican "leaders" are OK with harming all of the people that would be affected by them shutting down the government.