Debt Drama in House Today

[Vi-Jay 218]

Debt Drama in House Today

By Chris Stirewalt

Published May 31, 2011

House GOP Sets the Floor on Debt Ceiling

I dont think a lot of people outside of Washington and maybe some of the people here really understand how hard this is. This may give them some idea.

--Senior GOP congressional aide discussing with Power Play todays vote on an unconditioned, $2.4 trillion increase in the federal borrowing limit.

In case Democrats need any convincing of how difficult it is going to be to obtain President Obamas requested increase in the federal borrowing limit, House Republicans will remind them today.

More than 100 House Democrats recently signed a letter demanding that Speaker John Boehner bring forward a vote for an increase in federal debt levels without any conditions for cuts or future spending curbs. Imagine their surprise when Boehner agreed and will serve up a bill that would provide enough borrowing to cover all of president Obamas spending requests for next year without any preconditions.

The legislation will go down to a bipartisan trouncing. Even many of those Democrats who were seeking such a clean vote will now oppose the plan on the grounds that it was not offered sincerely. One Democratic communicator described the vote to Power Play as cheap theatrics worthy of the cast of Jersey Shore.

But the political reality is that increasing the nations swollen $14.3 trillion debt is a political loser. Voters hate it and lawmakers dont even get anything new to give away since the money is going to cover existing obligations.

The point of todays exercise is twofold:

First, it is designed to rob Democrats of the chance to say Republicans are playing politics with the nations credit limit. By offering the vote, Republicans will demonstrate that there is now broad, bipartisan agreement that more debt must be matched with cuts. That will set the new bar for ongoing negotiations.

Second, the vote will help demonstrate to the world beyond the beltway, especially on Wall Street, the gravity of the situation. While the Obama administrations repeated warnings about a potential default have mostly been cast aside by creditors and investors, the actual consequences of an impasse gridlock on the Hill ahead of budget season and a partial government shutdown are not the kinds of things that makes brokers bubble with confidence.

Republicans have scheduled a night vote so as not to spook markets with a defeat (and to deny any Democratic-allied investment firms the chance to make mischievous moves). This highlights the Republican educational effort here. The financial sector which has never understood Washington very well needs some convincing about how serious the situation is. Used to dealing with corporate machinations arranged around profit alone, financial types often find the motivations of lawmakers confusing.

Seeing the starkness of this number may help convince the Wall Street club to start leaning on Democrats for more concessions, quicker, to get the deal done. If Democratic patrons like Goldman Sachs start demanding swifter action, the White House and Senate Democrats will step it up.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"the motivations of lawmakers confusing."..?

The motivations of these lawmakers is clear.

This is a circle jerk at tax payer expense.

I'm not sure who is more stupid. The 100 Dem's that requested this vote (where was Reid on this?) or the GOP for mocking the gravity of this with a transparent manuever.

Edited May 31, 2011 by Vi-Jay

[^_^ 5,021]

This is Kabuki. There will be an increase in the debt limit, sufficient to prevent default without having to cut the Department of Education () by Aug 2.

[Vi-Jay 218]

This is Kabuki. There will be an increase in the debt limit,

Agreed.

Just wish both parties would stop the showboating, Get the budget done and raise the ceiling. The economy is sliding downward again while these elected azzholes are playing a game of chicken.

Frankly, I wish we could methodically dismantle our damn Fed gov. and start from the beginning. Get the power back to the states where it belongs.

I would like to resurrect FDR and show him the harvest of his seed. I think he would willingly crawl back in his grave to hide from his shame.

Edited May 31, 2011 by Vi-Jay

[^_^ 5,021]

Agreed.

Just wish both parties would stop the showboating, Get the budget done and raise the ceiling. The economy is sliding downward again while these elected azzholes are playing a game of chicken.

Frankly, I wish we could methodically dismantle our damn Fed gov. and start from the beginning. Get the power back to the states where it belongs.

I would like to resurrect FDR and show him the harvest of his seed. I think he would willingly crawl back in his grave to hide for his shame.

I'd go a step further and dismantle the United States. This country is much larger (in terms of population) than it was a few centuries ago and would probably function much better in smaller pieces.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

This is Kabuki. There will be an increase in the debt limit, sufficient to prevent default without having to cut the Department of Education () by Aug 2.

Cut, or eliminate? There is already legislation to streamline the Department of Education.

[Vi-Jay 218]

Cut, or eliminate? There is already legislation to streamline the Department of Education.

I saw that too.

I was half way through the read when I remembered, #######? This is just a WH proposal.

I will wait for the finished product.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I will wait for the finished product.

Pull up a chair, it'll be awhile.

[scandal 951]

Debt Drama in House Today

By Chris Stirewalt

the actual consequences of an impasse – gridlock on the Hill ahead of budget season and a partial government shutdown

If he thinks these are the consequences of defaulting on the good faith and credit of the US Treasury, he obviously hasn't the slightest understanding of what's actually at stake here.

BTW. When citing an article, naming your sourceis a nice gesture to your readers.

[Anh map 2,098]

Much ado about nothing. It's a self imposed limit. Congress passes the spending bills and can print all the money they want. So having this "limit", put in place as a political move after WW1, has as much impact as a speed limit sign on a rural highway.