Discussion: The Economy, National Debt, And Other Financial Issues II

[Paradoxium]

The world is going to end. The world is going to end. High interest rate is gonna kill everyone, not nuclear war

 

[SentinelMind]

People think this one sentence gives President Obama to raise the debt ceiling on his own?

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.

Wow...

Is gambling allowed on this site?
Wage your bets...what will happen?

1. Deal without Balanced Budget Amendment extension through 2012
2. Deal without Balanced Budget Amendement, no extension 2012
3. Deal with Balanced Budget Amendent, extension through 2012
4. Deal with Balanced Budget Amendment, no extension 2012
5. NO DEAL!!!!!!!!

Can I make this into a poll?

 

[hippie_hunter]

Details of the deal being formulated:

• A debt ceiling increase of up to $2.1 to $2.4 trillion (depending on the size of the spending cuts agreed to in the final deal).
• They have now agreed to spending cuts of roughly $1.2 trillion over 10 years.
• The formation of a special Congressional committee to recommend further deficit reduction of up to $1.6 trillion (whatever it takes to add up to the total of the debt ceiling increase). This deficit reduction could take the form of spending cuts, tax increases or both.
• The special committee must make recommendations by late November (before Congress' Thanksgiving recess).
• If Congress does not approve those cuts by December 23, automatic across-the-board cuts go into effect, including cuts to Defense and Medicare. This "trigger" is designed to force action on the deficit reduction committee's recommendations by making the alternative painful to both Democrats and Republicans.
• A vote, in both the House and Senate, on a balanced budget amendment.

 

[Venom'sDad]

No one has yet to convince me that it is the catastrophe it is being made out to be...

I find it kind of comical that we are listening to the ones that got us into the whole financial mess in the first place. Seems so strange to me...

It won't be a catastrophe until the U.S.Dollar loses it Reserve Status...and I still think that's at least a Decade away. Don't believe in a sudden death...it will be a slow death, as it has been already, like a frog in a pot of heating water. We are slowly being prepared for the inevitable, for those that has sense to heed...which I believe more and more are.

 

[Venom'sDad]

Like an article I read said, the way Congress has been bickering with itself, if using the 14th works, Obama could become a hero to the voters. The man who finally stepped in and solved the debt ceiling crisis (at least temporarily).

It does assume the new bonds are demanded with a similar interest rate as now. But, if so, Obama can say he saved the country, even the world, from an economic crisis while the partisanship in Congress was letting the country down. This gives him a huge running point to use for next year, especially if he spends all that time working out a spending solution.

Technically Congress could try an impeach him for using the 14th, even though he has the right to do so since he's faced with two contradictory mandates, but even if the House did vote to impeach, the Democrat controlled Senate wouldn't vote to convict.

The article could very well be correct, and like some, see that possibility. Regardless, Obama will make some cuts to entitlement, expect the date to military withdrawal in some regions to be moved up, and wouldn't be surprised in America cede more Foreign Aid to China allowing China more influence over previous America interest hotspots.

 

[Kelly]

It won't be a catastrophe until the U.S.Dollar loses it Reserve Status...and I still think that's at least a Decade away. Don't believe in a sudden death...it will be a slow death, as it has been already, like a frog in a pot of heating water. We are slowly being prepared for the inevitable, for those that has sense to heed...which I believe more and more are.

I think that frog started boiling in 2000 when Bush was elected, of course the pot would have started boiling with either candidate back then....but the burner was turned on in 2000.

 

[Venom'sDad]

There are many different opinions as to when the frog start boiling...my opinion is it started with the Federal Reserve Act and Income Tax. However if you just want to look at recent times; than I must say, under the Clinton Administration with the repeal of the Glass/Steagall Act.

 

[Kelly]

I like this deal, unfortunately....it won't happen, but its nice to dream.

• Privatize air traffic control. Canada did it, and it works better. Then privatize Amtrak. Get rid of all subsidies for rail. That'll save $12 billion.
• End subsidies for public broadcasting, like NPR.
• Cancel the Small Business Administration.
• Repeal the Davis-Bacon rules under which the government pays union-set wages to workers on federal construction projects.
• Cut foreign aid by half (although we should probably get rid of all of it). So far, that's $20 billion.
• Eliminate the U.S. Education Department. We'd save $94 billion. Federal involvement doesn't improve education. It gets in the way.
• Agriculture subsidies cost us $30 billion a year. Let's get rid of them. They distort the economy.
• We should also eliminate Housing and Urban Development. That's $53 billion more.
• Who needs the Energy Department and its $20 billion sinkhole? The free market should determine energy investments.
• And let's end the war on drugs. In effect, it's a $47 billion subsidy for thugs in the black market.
• With these cuts so far we have cut more than six times more than President Obama proposed in his State of the Union address. His freeze of nondefense discretionary spending would save only $40 billion.
• These cuts still total only $246 billion.
• If we're going to get rid of the rest of the CBO's projected deficit, we must attack the "untouchable" parts of the budget, starting with Social Security. Raising the retirement age and indexing benefits to inflation would save $93 billion.
• We'd save more by privatizing Social Security, but our progressive friends won't like that, so for now I'll ignore privatization.
• The biggest budget busters are Medicare and Medicaid, and get this: the 400 subsidy programs run by HHS. Assuming we take just two-thirds of the Cato Institute's suggested cuts, that saves $281 billion.(See Cato's cuts at www.downsizinggovernment.org.)
• Cut the Defense Department's $721 billion? Much of that money could be saved if the administration just shrank the military's (SET ITAL) mission (END ITAL) to its most important role: protecting us and our borders from those who wish us harm. Today, we have more than 50,000 soldiers in Germany, 30,000 in Japan and 9,000 in Britain. Those countries should pay for their own defense. Cato's military cuts add up to $150 billion.

So far we've now cut enough to put us $2 billion in surplus!

Other ideas...

• "Repeal ObamaCare," syndicated columnist Deroy Murdock said.
• Reason magazine editor Matt Welch wants to cut the Department of Homeland Security, "something that we did without 10 years ago."
• "We already have law enforcement in this country that pays attention to these things. This is a heavily bureaucratized organization.
• "Cut the Commerce Department," Mary O'Grady of The Wall Street Journal said. "If you take out the census work that it does, you would save $8 billion. And the rest of what it does is really just collect money for the president from business."
• As the bureaucrats complain about proposals to make tiny cuts, it's good to remember that disciplined government could make cuts that get us to a surplus in one year.
• But even a cowardly Congress could make swift progress if it wanted to. If it just froze spending at today's levels, it would almost balance the budget by 2017. If spending were limited to 1 percent growth each year, the budget would balanced in 2019.

Will it happen? Hell no, our politicians in Washington are cowards...but it looks good to me.

 

[Thread Manager]

This is a continuation thread, the old thread is [split]347140[/split]

 

[DACrowe]

New thread!

 

[Marx]

Skynet lurks...

 

[Kelly]

Skynet sucks...

 

[Paradoxium]

Great first post, and I read like a out of context ******

 

[Paradoxium]

Off by a year but it finally looks like Canada's economy is going in the decline.

 

[enterthemadness]

Off by a year but it finally looks like Canada's economy is going in the decline.

Well, at least they have Epic Meal Time....*didn't even click on link*

 

[Marx]

Great first post, and I read like a out of context ******

 

[redfirebird2008]

So apparently Boehner is protesting the deal because of defense spending cuts. The fake Tea Party is such a joke. Ron Paul has it right. Defense spending is the very first thing we should cut.

 

[Excel]

So apparently Boehner is protesting the deal because of defense spending cuts. The fake Tea Party is such a joke. Ron Paul has it right. Defense spending is the very first thing we should cut.

Nobodies looking stupider

 

[mikey1974]

Boehner's just stomping his feet because his plan didn't go through....

it's not about the country,or the economy anymore...it's about who's going to come out looking the 'best' from this mess...and both sides are doing their best to try and make the other side look 'bad'.... even at the expense of our economy,and the resultant raising of interest rates and taxes across the board....

remember these people...remember everyone involved in this mess come the next elections....

 

[8wid]

President Barack Obama and congressional leaders reached agreement on a deal that would extend the federal debt ceiling.

 

[Marx]

It looks like all the children have agreed to play nice, stop the political posturing, and make a deal. This whole process has really demonstrated what is wrong with government...

 

[mikey1974]

It looks like all the children have agreed to play nice, stop the political posturing, and make a deal. This whole process has really demonstrated what is wrong with government...

100%

this should've been settled MONTHS ago,rather than some last-minute,posturing battle where everyone tried to show they had a bigger d#%k than the other....like i said,it had nothing to do with who had the better plan,or what helped the economy,or the people in America...it was only about who got bragging rights,and who got to make the other party look 'bad'....

 

[Team Andino]

With the mind set our current Government plays by when it comes to getting things done we'll be accomplishing good things in 50 years that should of be achieved today if not yesterday.

 

[DACrowe]

Well a deal was reached...finally. Excuse us if we don't uncork the champagne on this one.

All I can do is hope that the trigger on defense really causes House GOP not sent to DC for the first time by the Tea Party to make a real deal on the tax code (and I would say the Bush tax cuts, but I'm not deluded). Though I fear because revenue increases aren't automatically included in the trigger the Tea Baggers will prevent that from happening and a trigger that cuts more into Medicare and raises no revenues will go into effect.

Even when the Dems have more leverage, they still can't negotiate the better end of the deal.

At least we have avoided default and (I hope) a downgrade this week. And voters saw what the Tea Party represents in actual governance, as well.

 

[childeroland]

John Bachelor is speaking as if this is a loss for Obama. Is it? Where does this put the president for 2012? Weaker, stronger, no difference?