Obama regrets vote against raising debt limit

[JohnSmith2007 353]

Are we going to get into this again? Jeez. No, I am not Gary.

[dalegg 143]

Actually I'm surprised that he didn't say that because of the previous administrations failed leadership 3 years ago he is forced to support raising the debt ceiling.

[JohnSmith2007 353]

Actually I'm surprised that he didn't say that because of the previous administrations failed leadership 3 years ago he is forced to support raising the debt ceiling.

Hard to say that when the debt has gone up so much more over his administration. The "blame Bush" mantra is wearing thin.

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

That was the case in 2006 when Republican George W. Bush was president and Obama, a freshman senator from Illinois, declared on the Senate floor: "The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. ... Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem."

so how is that leadership failure, obama?

[natty bumppo 297]

obama ... do as i say not as i do .....

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I GET HIS POINT!!!!! I don't agree with it. It is not lipstick on a pig. It will result in lower spending, just not very fast. There is a difference IMO. Jeez, how many times does it take? BTW, my name isn't Gary.

If the budget doesn't deliver real savings for 10-20 years, it is lipstick on a pig

If you say: "i'm spending too much on credit, i need to stop piling money on my. credit card, but I'll do it in two years", that wouldn't be sound financial planning, would it.

10 years!? Anything could happen by then!

[^_^ 5,021]

10 years!? Anything could happen by then!

There is something to the argument that large populations have a higher degree of predictability than individuals.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

True. We can predict that the US would have borrowed more money, but at least Gary can feel secure in the knowledge that something is being done. Even if the something amounts to nothing.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

If the budget doesn't deliver real savings for 10-20 years, it is lipstick on a pig

If you say: "i'm spending too much on credit, i need to stop piling money on my. credit card, but I'll do it in two years", that wouldn't be sound financial planning, would it.

10 years!? Anything could happen by then!

True. Besides, the CBO estimate actually says that the Ryan proposal actually increases the debt over current policy by 2022. So, not only does it not curb the defict and debt over the next 10 years, it makes it slightly worse. Long term? Well, anyone that believes that shifting an ever increasing burden of medical care to the ever increasing number of seniors - yes, that block of voters that will be ever more important to politicians as it makes up an ever larger part of the electorate - will actually stand, I've got a bridge to sell.

[_Simpson_ 250]

Its good that we have this bargaining chip. Maybe we will see some real cuts in spending.

Edited April 12, 2011 by _Simpson_

[B_J 2,752]

True. Besides, the CBO estimate actually says that the Ryan proposal actually increases the debt over current policy by 2022. So, not only does it not curb the defict and debt over the next 10 years, it makes it slightly worse. Long term? Well, anyone that believes that shifting an ever increasing burden of medical care to the ever increasing number of seniors - yes, that block of voters that will be ever more important to politicians as it makes up an ever larger part of the electorate - will actually stand, I've got a bridge to sell.

Has anybody else put together a real plan that does anything? And how can you expect to fix the deficit problem without looking long term? There's not going to be a 5 year plan to get rid of the deficit.

Budget deficits under the proposal would be around 2 percent of GDP in the 2020s and would decline during the 2030s. The budget would be in surplus by 2040 and show growing surpluses in the following decade. Federal debt would equal about 48 percent of GDP by 2040 and 10 percent by 2050.

CBO

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Has anybody else put together a real plan that does anything? And how can you expect to fix the deficit problem without looking long term? There's not going to be a 5 year plan to get rid of the deficit.

Budget deficits under the proposal would be around 2 percent of GDP in the 2020s and would decline during the 2030s. The budget would be in surplus by 2040 and show growing surpluses in the following decade. Federal debt would equal about 48 percent of GDP by 2040 and 10 percent by 2050.

CBO

No, we won't get rid of the deficit in 5 years but with Ryan's proposal we will add to the deficit over the next decade and are left to hope that the cost of the vouchers won't go the same route as the Medicare reimbursement rates which are set on a declining path until the annual doc fix hits and the "savings" that were built into the system evaporate. What makes you think that the voucher program that ryan proposes won't head down that very same road?

When retirees shoulder 2/3 of their health care cost, as opposed to about 1/4 under the current system, those retirees will demand more coverage. Seeing that they will be the largest voting block w/o which nobody can win an election, they will get it. And all those rosy projections which are based on onbviously flawed assumptions won't be worth the paper they're printed on.

[mawilson 2,133]

No, we won't get rid of the deficit in 5 years but with Ryan's proposal we will add to the deficit over the next decade

And that's just it. In 10 years, someone else will undo the cost savings to keep seniors happy, and we're back to square one.

Until someone grows a pair of balls big enough to tell TODAY's seniors to stuff it, we won't see any real cuts.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

At the end of the day, Obama is a hypocrite. We knew this already though.

ANYONE who votes to raise the debt ceiling, no matter who they are, is an enemy of the United States and their actions are treasonous against us all.

No one seems to give a damn about how dangerous the situation we are in right now really is.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Treason? what is this, ancient Rome!?