He doesn't have it in him. He just isn't that guy.
defining government spending as axiomatically unproductive has its problems (see R&D, especially medical research,) but I was tolerably persuaded by this. that raising the debt ceiling has been pro forma is no good argument that it should continue to be.
http://reason.com/archives/2013/01/1...overnment-debt
Last edited by Winehole23; 01-15-2013 at 10:47 AM.
http://reason.com/archives/2013/01/1...rnment-shutdowHow Republicans shut down government matters, though. Failing to raise the debt ceiling would probably trigger panic in the markets. A more politically opportune time would be to deal with this when the government's general operating budget expires. Seeing as Senate Democrats have been unable to produce a budget for years—and not a single politician has voted for an Obama budget—Republicans have a case to make about responsible governing.
from the APThe United States could lose its top credit rating for the second time from a leading agency if there’s a delay in raising the country’s debt ceiling, Fitch Ratings warned Tuesday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...rkets-haywire/The powerful Financial Services Roundtable — which is headed by former GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty and represents nearly 100 of the largest financial service firms in the country — is set to increase pressure on Congress to raise the debt limit, warning that failure to do so will make the markets go “haywire.”
“We are in favor of raising it, and we will be encouraging policy makers to increase it,” Scott Talbott, the senior vice president for public policy for the Financial Services Roundtable, told me today. He added that the group was gearing up to communicate the demand for action to Congress, an effort that could include sending letters to every member. “We will communicate with the entire Congress,” he said.
business lobby piling on, not that that should make much difference to the rank and file in the House.
counterintuitive at first blush, but plausible
http://keithhennessey.com/2013/01/14/raise-and-cut/To cut spending, raise the debt limit
A better strategy for House Republicans to force some spending cuts on a President who doesn’t want them looks like this.
- Rely first on the sequester, second on the CR, and last on the debt limit as leverage.
- On the debt limit, state loudly and repeatedly a simple principle: We will pay our bills on time and we will cut future spending. Rather than being against a debt limit increase unless it also cuts spending, say that you’re for a debt limit increase that also cuts spending. You’re the legislative branch, you control what’s in the law. Act as leaders doing the right thing, rather than as rebels trying to block President Obama and Congressional Democratic spenders from doing the wrong thing.
- Agree with the President that we must pay our bills, and politely smile and say “And we’re going to cut spending, too.” Make him argue against cutting spending, rather than giving him the opportunity to attack you for risking financial disaster.
- Pass a bill out of the House that raises the debt limit and cuts spending. Make it a short-term extension, maybe 3-6 months, and cut spending by a similarly modest amount.
- Take whatever big spending cuts you want and make them conditions of extending the Continuing Resolution. Threaten to shut down the government rather than to make the government risk not paying its bills on time. It’s a less damaging and therefore more credible threat.
- Propose specific en lement spending cuts to subs ute for the sequester cuts you don’t like (presumably in defense). On this one sit and wait for Democratic nondefense appropriators to panic. You won’t have to wait long.
- Publicly state your willingness to agree to (and vote for) a longer-term debt limit increase as soon as the President is willing to cut spending a lot or at least to commit to a credible long-term fiscal path. If he won’t, state that you will repeat step 3 as often as needed.
- If the President threatens to veto your short-term debt limit increase + spending cuts, then tell him you’ll allow House Democrats to pass a clean short-term debt limit extension, but they’ll all have to vote for it, every three months or so. Watch the ensuing panic in the House Democratic caucus with amusement.
sameThere are three key strategic premises upon which this strategy relies:
- Leverage to cut spending is best implemented through the sequester and CR more than through the debt limit.
- Leverage on the debt limit can be created only by being for the right kind of debt limit increase (short-term and with spending cuts), and not by threatening to block any increase. The more responsible policy path is also the one that generates more negotiating leverage, albeit in an incremental way.
- A smart debt limit strategy allows the President an opportunity to get his clean debt limit increase, but only for a short timeframe and only at great political cost to his own party in Congress. This is what creates leverage, not threatening to let the house burn down.
Hennessey's point about payment prioritization being at the President's discretion in the event of technical default (as distinguished from defaulting on sovereign debt) is the achilles heel of the apparent GOP strategy. If the government shuts down over a debt ceiling impasse, the president can halt payments to various cons uencies and credibly (though perhaps not persuasively) blame the GOP for it.
Barry framed it great yesterday. USA has to pay its obligations, period. He won't yield to Repugs trying to extort unnamed austerity cuts.
Keith Hennessey has sketched a credible route past Obama's intransigence, if the GOP is savvy enough to adopt it. remains to be seen if they are or not.
In a pinch, the Treasury could issue IOUs to the nation’s creditors — guarantees they’ll be paid eventually. But there’s no indication that’s Obama’s game plan, either.
So it must be that he’s counting on public pressure — especially from the GOP’s patrons on Wall Street and big business — to force Republicans into submission.
That’s probably the reason for the unexpected news conference, coming at least a month before the nation is likely to have difficulty paying its bills.
The timing may be right. President is riding a wave of post-election popularity. Gallup shows him with a 56 percent approval rating, the highest in three years. By contrast, Republicans are in the pits. John Boehner has a 21% approval and 60% disapproval. And Mitch McConnell’s approval is at 24%. Not even GOP voters seem to like Republican lawmakers in Washington, with 25% approving and 61% disapproving.
And Americans remember the summer of 2011 when the GOP held hostage the debt ceiling, bringing the nation close to a default and resulting in a credit-rating downgrade and financial turmoil that slowed the recovery. The haggling hurt the GOP more than it did Democrats or the President.
But Obama’s strategy depends on there being enough sane voices left in the GOP to influence others.
That’s far from clear.
http://robertreich.org/post/40545259057
He has no intention of ever cutting spending. He knows the wheels won't come completely off until after his term is up and it will be someone else's problem. Every family in the US now owes like $143,000 on the national debt.
Lol. Jon Stewart -- Paul Krugman & the Trillion Dollar Coin, part 2.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Coburn: Not Raising the Debt Ceiling 'Might be a Wonderful Experiment'
It might be a wonderful experiment, regardless who wins the next election or not, just to see if we could live on the money that’s coming into the Treasury and not have to borrow against the future of our children.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/conten...ful-experiment
right wingers, esp protected by BigOil, are dumb as
Pot, meet kettleCoburn: Not Raising the Debt Ceiling 'Might be a Wonderful Experiment'
It might be a wonderful experiment, regardless who wins the next election or not, just to see if we could live on the money that’s coming into the Treasury and not have to borrow against the future of our children.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/conten...ful-experiment
Hey, CC. I posted a question about your sous vide machine in The Club. Wanted to see if you use something to circulate the water.
I bought a little high temperature low voltage pump but haven't used it yet. Quite honestly I haven't felt the need for it as all the meat I have done from a dozen steaks at a time to 10# roasts seems to cook evenly.
I was considering a 12v windshield washer pump that I had laying around, but it sounds like it is completely unnecessary.
Republicans Accuse Obama of Using Position as President to Lead Country
Responding to reports that President Obama is considering signing as many as nineteen executive orders on gun control, Republicans in Congress unleashed a blistering attack on him today, accusing Mr. Obama of “cynically and systematically using his position as President to lead the country.”
Spearheading the offensive was Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas), who charged the President with the “wanton exploitation of powers that are legally granted to him under the U.S. Cons ution.”
Calling him the “Law Professor-in-Chief,” Rep. Stockman accused Mr. Obama of “manipulating a little-known section of the Cons ution,” Article II, which outlines the power of the President.
“President Obama looks down the list of all of the powers that are legally his and he’s like a kid in a candy store,” Rep. Stockman said. “It’s nauseating.”
The Texas congressman said that if Mr. Obama persists in executing the office of the Presidency as defined by the Cons ution, he could face “impeachment and/or deportation.”
Noting that the President has not yet signed the executive orders on gun control, Rep. Stockman said that he hoped his stern words would serve as a wake-up call to Mr. Obama: “Mr. President, there’s still time for you to get in line.
But if you continue to fulfill the duties of President of the United States that are expressly permitted in the Cons ution, you are playing with fire.”
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blog...#ixzz2I5FvfkgE
Last edited by boutons_deux; 01-17-2013 at 03:00 PM.
Those New Yorker bits are just dumb as .
in this case, accurate as . the whole snit over executive orders related to guns amounts to outrage over the executive branch enforcing laws duly passed by Congress. it can hardly be uncons utional, let alone a high crime or misdemeanor, for the President to faithfully execute laws already on the books.
"we wouldn't need any new gun legislation if they'd just enforce the laws we already have" -- right?
*crickets*
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