The utter madness of not raising the debt ceiling
The United States would immediately have its top-notch credit rating slashed to “selective default” if it misses a debt payment on Aug. 4, Standard & Poor’s managing director John Chambers told Reuters.
Chambers, who is also the chairman of S&P’s sovereign ratings committee, told Reuters on Tuesday that U.S. Treasury bills maturing on Aug. 4 would be rated ‘D’ if the government fails to honor them. Unaffected Treasuries would be downgraded as well, but not as sharply, he said.
“If the U.S. government misses a payment, it goes to D,” Chambers said.
“The full consequence of a default — or even the serious prospect of default — by the United States are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate. Denigration of the full faith and credit of the United States would have substantial effects on the domestic financial markets and on the value of the dollar in exchange markets. The nation can ill afford to allow such a result. The risks, the costs, the disruptions, and the incalculable damage lead me to but one conclusion: the Senate must pass the legislation before the Congress adjourns.”
Social Security benefits could be among the first casualties if President Obama and Congress can’t agree to increase the government’s debt limit on Aug. 2, a new analysis shows.
The Bipartisan Policy Center studied Treasury Department receipts and expenditures for August 2009 and 2010 and determined that the government likely would not have enough revenue to pay the full $23 billion payment to Social Security recipients due on Aug. 3.
On that day, according to the analysis, the government would take in about $12 billion in taxes and other revenue but would owe $32 billion, creating a $20 billion shortfall….
“We should be honest with ourselves what this would be like, and the answer is it would be chaotic,” said Jerome Powell, a former Treasury official in the first Bush administration. “There is no way to avoid really serious pain.”
From the Bipartisan Policy Center, documenting what the federal government could and could not continue to pay for once the debt ceiling is hit and the government is prohibited from borrowing additional funds:
Everything above the red line could theoretically be financed, although in practice that would be very difficult because inflows and outflows are so “lumpy,” BPC analysts conclude. (In addition, this is what a “balanced budget” would look like absent additional revenue. To preserve those things above the red line, every expenditure below the red line would have to end.)
In other words, we could continue to pay off bondholders such as China for a few weeks. They could, theoretically, still get paid. But we couldn’t pay our own soldiers. No government salaries would be paid at all, including for those employees who would supposedly be sending out the checks to China and elsewhere.
It is suicidal madness to even contemplate such a step.
– Jay Bookman
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842 comments Add your comment
Dave R.
June 30th, 2011
11:20 am
ty, I can’t predict football (too many injuries and weather affect the outcomes), but I DO know my politics.
Six months before November, 2010, I predicted within 2 seats the House and Senate gains of the GOP. (I picked Harry Reid to lose in NV, but didn’t factor in how bad Angle really was) Picked Christie in NJ, Brown in MA, and McDonnell in VA.
I’m sticking with this debt prediction, though.
jconservative
June 30th, 2011
11:20 am
Generally speaking dead beats who do not pay their bills have a hard time obtaining loans to finance things they find necessary, soldiers, new weapon systems and raises for legislators.
williebkind
June 30th, 2011
11:22 am
AmVet
June 30th, 2011
11:19 am
Aaah! Got to throw that racist card again huh!
Mighty Righty
June 30th, 2011
11:22 am
Fletch
June 30th, 2011
11:03 am
“You’re right, so why aren’t these employers putting people back to work instead of sitting on record profits?”
Fletch, employers don’t trust this administration. I saw a businessman this morning say he has attended numerous information seminars on Obamacare. He said not one knew what all the ramifications are for his business. His best estimate at this time is that Obamacare will increase his cost by 6+ million dollars! He is only one of many who are wondering whether they will even be in business in a few years. This administration bad mouths and demonizes businesses EVERY DAY! Why would any business do anything in the way of hiring or expanding in this climate? Another, in the restuarant business said that the EPA is anti business. These stories are not secret! Obama can’t make a speech without attacking business. Wake up libs, your president hates businessmen.
Dave R.
June 30th, 2011
11:23 am
“That will be kicking the can down the road. It would mean that the same crisis would confront us next year.”
True, Disgusted, but as the old adage goes, you eat an elephant one bite at a time. The crisis is NOW. It has to be addressed NOW. And the fundamental changes needed to get our fiscal house in order cannot be addressed in a CRISIS.
josef
June 30th, 2011
11:23 am
FRED
Yeah! That’s the ticket. Got plenty of checks, just send the Credit Card A folks one and they’ll hush for a few days anyway, right? Then we can make a cash withdrawal from Credit Card B and deposit that and the bank will be happy and we can go shopping on Credit Card C and do our part for getting the consumer economy back on track…makes sense to me…
stands for decibels
June 30th, 2011
11:24 am
I see that Mark Halperin has been suspended…
that’s kinda dickish of MSNBC. Don’t people watch Moaning Joe to hear such insults in the first place?
AmVet
June 30th, 2011
11:24 am
Sorry, williebeklan, I didn’t realize you were referring to white minorities…
stands for decibels
June 30th, 2011
11:24 am
It’s like suspending Babe Ruth for hitting home runs, is what I mean.
Titleist101
June 30th, 2011
11:26 am
Not a tax problem, it’s a SPENDING problem. Why have a debt ceiling when it is never adhered to ? The real problem is a lack of leadership from Washington, amateurs at the top, and a country where half of the population are net-recipients of federal assistance. Taxes on private jets ? Like fingers in the dike, especially considering that Obama has the most expensive private jet in the world !
Get Real
June 30th, 2011
11:26 am
You liberals are just too funny; it is always fun to check the blog a few times during the day in between conference calls to see the same progressive bloggers spouting the same liberal dung….some of us have to really work….enjoy
Doggone/GA
June 30th, 2011
11:26 am
“employers don’t trust this administration”
That’s the excuse they use. The REASON is that they are sitting on record profits without having to hire. So why hire, especially since demand doesn’t force a need for more employees and they are STILL sitting on record profilts?
too little time
June 30th, 2011
11:27 am
Albert Einstein : “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results..”
It is ALSO utter madness to raise the debt ceiling without substantial and DEEP cuts and expect that we wont be raising the debt ceiling in a few more years! That is doing the same thing again and again and expecting a diffferent result. It is utter madness to demand eventual financial destruction through deficit spending in order to save the near term (this is the game of chicken that the Democrats are playing). It is utter madness not to throw a few increase-tax bones on into the mix of deep cuts in order to stave off the near term disaster (this is the game of chicken that the Republicans are playing).
If one looks, though, at the game that each party is playing, though, the Democrats LOSE. Look, debt limit was $8.9 trillion when Democrats took over Congress in 2006. The debt is now $14 Trillion. In just 5 short years, the Democrats have run the debt up by more than 50%. This is unsustainable, and requires IMMEDIATE cessation. All of America knows this. The deep cuts that Republicans want to impose are necessary. The only way to get them through is to do it now or commit financial suicide. This is the ONLY time that the Republicans are guaranteed to have enough leverage and backing to push the necessary cuts through. If they are unable to succeed, then the U.S. dies a slow economic death like Spain of the 1700s or the U.K of last century, or Japan of the last couple of decades.
Common Sense
June 30th, 2011
11:27 am
@Adam,
Wanna start with Frank-Dodd?
Or what about offshore drilling?
Or the billions spent by Shell to try and drill in Alaska, only to be turned down?
Maybe the Outer Perimeter?
Let’s get really local, ok?
Can you take out a tree in your yard greater than three inches in diameter without approval?
Put a new roof on your home without a permit?
The list is endless.
Now let’s see you show there is less regulation and not more. I’ll wait patiently.
stands for decibels
June 30th, 2011
11:28 am
So why hire, especially since demand doesn’t force a need for more employees and they are STILL sitting on record profilts?
and they can just squeeze existing employees to do more work, and nobody inside the beltway will say boo about it.
It’s not like Americans should have evenings and weekends off like some kind of fru-fru Frenchies.
Dave R.
June 30th, 2011
11:30 am
OK, I know this is off topic, and I know it’s from Neal Boortz, but it’s pretty darned funny as well !
http://www.boortz.com/weblogs/nealz-nuze/2011/jun/30/talkmasters-new-bumper-sticker/
Uncle Jed
June 30th, 2011
11:31 am
Those silly libs; first it’s Weiner and now “a dick”. Call it a Freudian slip.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mark Halperin suspended over Obama remark on Morning Joe
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/58098.html#ixzz1Qm25BZEe
“MSNBC senior political analyst Mark Halperin was suspended on Thursday by the cable network after he called President Obama “a dick” on a popular morning show and then quickly apologized.
“I thought he was a dick yesterday,” Halperin, who also is an editor-at large for Time, said on Morning Joe, referring to the President’s conduct during his press conference.
A couple of hours later, MSNBC issued a statement, saying, “Mark Halperin’s comments this morning were completely inappropriate and unacceptable. We apologize to the President, The White House and all of our viewers. We strive for a high level of discourse and comments like these have no place on our air. Therefore, Mark will be suspended indefinitely from his role as an analyst.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/58098.html#ixzz1Qm0qAs1j
getalife
June 30th, 2011
11:32 am
Imagine if the dems tried to default on the debt.
corporate media would be all over them.
wall street and the coc would be running commercials.
WOODSTOCK MIKE
June 30th, 2011
11:32 am
Looks like revenues certainly were higher under George Bush…
Year GDP-US $ billion Total Direct Revenue-fed $ billion
1996 7838.5 1453.05
1997 8332.4 1579.23
1998 8793.5 1721.73
1999 9353.5 1827.45
2000 9951.5 2025.19
2001 10286.2 1991.08
2002 10642.3 1853.14
2003 11142.1 1782.31
2004 11867.8 1880.11
2005 12638.4 2153.61
2006 13398.9 2406.87
2007 14077.6 2567.98
2008 14441.4 2523.99
2009 14119 2104.99
2010 14660.4 2162.72
Howdy Hi
June 30th, 2011
11:32 am
AmVet……..really? What’s false about it?
Uncle Jed
June 30th, 2011
11:33 am
“We strive for a high level of discourse and comments like these have no place on our air.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
That line is the funniest part of the MSNBC comment. Matthews / Maddow / etc….
josef
June 30th, 2011
11:33 am
“We can send all the minorities to their state and let them feed, cloth, and house them instead?”
ZamVet
I know you don’t want to hear it, but there’s a lot more to what willie is not so delicately saying than meets the eye…those fat accounts in those states rest pretty heavily on the policies adopted in the “reconstruction” of the states on the dole today. And those minorities include your much beloved rednecks, crackers, hillbillies and trailer trash as well. There are unresolved historical reasons behind the poverty which marks Uncle Sam’s Oldest Colony as the good liberal Alan Tate referred to it back in the 1920s…
Dave R.
June 30th, 2011
11:34 am
Looks like the fawning, slobbering media which supported this President is beginning to jump ship.
Imam Torquemada excluded, of course.
Joe Mama
June 30th, 2011
11:34 am
Common Sense — “Progressives have halted progress in America”
NIFS
WOODSTOCK MIKE
June 30th, 2011
11:35 am
Pardon the chart being difficult to read…… Does this mean low taxes create higher GDP?
Peadawg
June 30th, 2011
11:36 am
” We strive for a high level of discourse”
It should read: “We strive for a high level of political correctness”
Fixed their typo.
I won’t wait for my thanks from MSNBC.
Brosephus
June 30th, 2011
11:36 am
Like fingers in the dike
Guess I was reading things in a different context then. My bad….
Taxes on private jets ? Like fingers in the dike, especially considering that Obama has the most expensive private jet in the world !
Dumb sh*t such as this should subject people to public floggings or something.
#1 I guess you want the Secret Service to have to spend insane amounts to protect the life of the president, and not just the current one in office.
#2 Do you really want the President to fly commercial? If you think TSA is crazy now, just imagine the TSA with an injection of Secret Service DNA. You’d probably be able to combine flying with your yearly physical by the time you’re done with security.
The list of issues with that statement are endless. I think you’d be much better off sticking your finger in a dike and not an eletrical socket.
Scott
June 30th, 2011
11:36 am
Just a question for everybody. Why even have a debt limit if we are never going to abide by it? Eventually, you have to say enough is enough right?. It isn’t like this debt ceiling came as a shock to anybody. We knew about this ceiling when we last agreed to raise it so why haven’t we done anything? We also knew about it the time before that and the time before that and the time before that etc. etc and we did nothing then besides increase spending. So now you want us to raise it again without making any concessions or stipulations to ensure that we do not have to raise it again and you castigate members of Congress that actually want to follow the law and put an end to this insanity. What is the breaking point for you people?
This situation reminds me of something I see at work all of the time. A person misses work and has been late 10 times in the past year unexcused. They have this family emergency or they have a flat tire on the way to work and gets fired from his job because they “point out.” They try to claim “but it was a family emergency…you don’t care about me or my family. You are a terrible company…wah wah wah.” Nope, it isn’t this instance that we are firing you for. We are firing you for all of the instances prior to this one and this one was one that broke the camel’s back. If you didn’t have the 10 instances before, you would still have a job. This debt ceiling thing is the same exact thing. The government constantly raised it in the past and now others are whining that some do not want to do it again. Too bad. You had your chance to fix it for so long. You knew the consequences and now you must pay. We all must pay unfortunately. Thanks all your greedy politicians for the reckless spending, reps and cons included. And now I will hear “But Bush raised the the debt after coming in with a surplus left by Clinton blah blah blah” or some other misstatement of the facts that have been proven wrong time and time again. Do me a favor before you post that trash, just please answer the question I first asked in this post.
getalife
June 30th, 2011
11:37 am
At some point you cons are going to choose corporate or country.
Some are turning on corporate after the collapse.
Where is your patriotism corporate cons?
Fletch
June 30th, 2011
11:37 am
Hey Mighty, there’s a lot of Grey area in your response. Not knocking it, as my partmners and I own several businesses. However the trust issue is some what of a red herring as well as Obamacare. we have always provided fully paid benefits to our employees (going on 15 years) so the requirements aren’t going to hurt us. In addition, we will be able to take advantage of the tax credit allowed under the HCA regs. We’ve never made business decisions based on who occupied the White House. We simply take care of our people, increase staff when demand calls for it, cut back on expenses (usually starting with our own salaries) when needed, and continue to service our clients and customers the best way we can. I can’t speak for all business owners, but the ones that follow a similiar plan such as ours have not had any worries.
Rich
June 30th, 2011
11:37 am
We doubled spending in the last few years and we can not find a way to cut 10% of the increase spending? WHo ever is against spending cuts is not trying. As for tax increases, not until they show they can manage the money they have. Any tax increase should be a % across all brackets.
yuzeyurbrane
June 30th, 2011
11:37 am
After yesterday’s TV performance, I have decided to accept Obama for what he is which is a law professor/community organizer who prefers discussion and mediation. Yes, he can be very articulate but in a high-minded way that appeals to our brains and the better angels of our nature. A Harry Truman his is not, much less a Churchill. But his opponents remain the Party of No focused on a mission to make his a 1 term Presidency, the country be damned. I still don’t think he quite gets it. More importantly he is not capable of fighting fire with fire. It is just not him and when he tries, as he did yesterday, it comes off as wimpy. So the Democrats just have to learn to deal with it. They need to use some articulate, charismatic surrogates to rally the troops and inject some backbone into our Pres. on the core issues like Soc. Sec. and Medicare. Someone once said, “if you don’t stand for something, you stand for nothing. `”
josef
June 30th, 2011
11:37 am
DAVE
Well, I’ve played the Reconstruction-Imperialism card…reckon a new thread is in the making?
AmVet
June 30th, 2011
11:38 am
“Not a tax problem, it’s a SPENDING problem.”
No matter how often it is parroted, or how it is phrased, this is still a completely false statement.
Adam
June 30th, 2011
11:38 am
Common Sense: Compared to when? What is your time frame for more regulations versus less?
getalife
June 30th, 2011
11:39 am
mark got mad because the President fought back.
mark is a sore loser and should be fired.
Get over it cons.
Common Sense
June 30th, 2011
11:40 am
Dear President Obama,
We have gone over 792 days without a budget. So I know how serious you take this whole process, for actions speak louder than words. It’s just an arbitrary process anyway. It does cause so much bickering and political infighting in Washington.
To reward you, we think you should have even more money with which to spend. There’s no reason you should be penalized or have to make some tough decisions, even if you did take an oath and swear to perform this job to the best of your capabilities.
We know you are doing your best. And we know it was the fault of Bush.
Your ever loving loyal, faithful supporters will back you no matter what happens.
Give us more of the same in 2012.
Keep hitting them straight,
The Faithful Flock
Dave R.
June 30th, 2011
11:40 am
Sorry, josef, but you need to quote an historian first, and specifically a MAJOR historian before you get a new thread.
Common Sense
June 30th, 2011
11:41 am
I ‘ll make it easy for you Adam….
Just point out when there was a time there was less regulation.
Give it your best shot.
Left wing management
June 30th, 2011
11:41 am
Woodstock Mike: “How about turning the argument the other way, if we know that not raising the debt ceiling will be catastrophic, and we know the GOP will vote to raise the debt limit if there are no tax increases, does this mean that the Democrats would rather cause a catastrophe all in the name of raising taxes?”
You’d make a perfect Beltway pundit with that logic! (Hey I hear there’s an opening for Broder’s chair at WaPo.)
Your hypothetical there doesn’t work, Woody. Only ONE side has flatly said that one side of the revenue/spending equation is off the table, thus provoking the crisis. The other side, the Dem side, has bent over backwards to offer concessions. To ask one side to give up EVERYTHING while the other side gives up NOTHING is extortion, pure and simple. So you can’t simply turn the logic around that way. Nice try though.
AmVet
June 30th, 2011
11:42 am
Common Sense — “Progressives have halted progress in America”
Joe Mama, consider the corollary – the anti-progressives have forged progress in America.
????????????????
A new entry into the Dictionary of Made Up Definitions. (Under phrases that say nothing.)
getalife
June 30th, 2011
11:43 am
mark will be on gop state tv fox for more money so it was probably intentional.
Stop listening to talking heads and watch government actions instead.
The gop want to cut and run from their debts like cowards.
That is what is important.
Not talking heads trying to make more money on gop state tv.
Focus people.
Uncle Jed
June 30th, 2011
11:43 am
U.S. drone targets two leaders of Somali group allied with al-Qaeda, official says
The airstrike makes Somalia at least the sixth country where the United States is using drone aircraft to conduct lethal attacks, joining Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Iraq and Yemen.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Watch out Mississippi, you may be next
Back to the topic: How much do these drone strikes cost? Gotta be less than alternatives.
stands for decibels
June 30th, 2011
11:43 am
Dumb sh*t such as this should subject people to public floggings or something.
howsabout into the glue factory’s rendering vat? along with boortz and rush?
pleeeze? it’s really not asking so much.
~~~~~~~~~
Nope, it isn’t this instance that we are firing you for. We are firing you for all of the instances prior to this one
you can practically see “Little Scott” springing to life as this particular line is being typed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just point out when there was a time there was less regulation.
How about a time when there were fewer housecats? you know, we have more house cats in the USA than we did 20, 30 years ago. We’ve got more than 76 million now.
Obviously it’s teh kittehz fault.
Left wing management
June 30th, 2011
11:43 am
getalife: “mark got mad because the President fought back.”
I missed the whole thing. What was he irritated with that Obama did?
Dave R.
June 30th, 2011
11:43 am
You know, I catch Morning Joe on MSNBC most mornings (I’ll hit Fox & Friends during commercials), except when that blowhard Donnie Deutch is on. Can’t stand that Jacka$$.
They actually DO have a much higher level of discussion that any other show right now.
Joe Mama
June 30th, 2011
11:44 am
Righty — “Wake up libs, your president hates businessmen.”
Then why’d he dole out hundreds of billions to them with no accountability, no oversight and no conditions to them?
I’d like to be hated like that. Why don’t you send me a check for $25,000 so I can tell others how much you hate me?
stands for decibels
June 30th, 2011
11:44 am
(Hey I hear there’s an opening for Broder’s chair at WaPo.)
you get to dine on quail with Karl Rove. sweeeet deal.
Common Sense
June 30th, 2011
11:45 am
Progressives or anti-progressives: Which ones stopped the Boeing move to South Carolina at the NLRB?
Whacks Eloquent
June 30th, 2011
11:45 am
Mighty Righty,
You bring up cutting Dept of Education. Are they really spending $30 b per month? On what? Last time I checked they run ZERO schools. The states do that. We should start there. Whatever else gets worked out in compromise is fine, but if we are spending over 12 figures a year on an education department that essentially just monitors AYP for the failed NCLB, then I think the dept needs to go. Period. What would be the result? The states would still control all the money going to schools, and there would still be great interstate disparity, so don’t see that it would really hurt. The GOP used to talk about that – what happened there?
getalife
June 30th, 2011
11:45 am
“Just point out when there was a time there was less regulation.”
No common sense.
Global economic collapse.
Duh.
Dave R.
June 30th, 2011
11:46 am
“Focus people.”
Boy, if there ever was a “practice what you preach” moment on this blog, this was it.
Scott
June 30th, 2011
11:46 am
Amvet @1142; You can also put the term “Amvet” under that same entry int he dictionary. based on everything you write, you bring nothing to the table.
AmVet
June 30th, 2011
11:46 am
Howdy,
Time and time and time again, a wide variety of experts have said BOTH cuts and revenue increases are required.
The gap is simply much too vast to be bridged from just one end.
Joe Mama
June 30th, 2011
11:46 am
Doggone — “That’s the excuse they use. The REASON is that they are sitting on record profits without having to hire. So why hire, especially since demand doesn’t force a need for more employees and they are STILL sitting on record profilts?”
This.
getalife
June 30th, 2011
11:47 am
Dave,
Well, you need to focus on your people skills.
Common Sense
June 30th, 2011
11:47 am
It’s called Fascism Joe Mama,
They both hate each other. But they use each other to their own advantage.
Germany did the same thing in the 1930’s. It’s not new.
Uncle Jed
June 30th, 2011
11:48 am
“They actually DO have a much higher level of discussion that any other show right now.”
++++++++++++++++++++
I’d give ‘em a try, but my dial doesn’t go that far to the left
williebkind
June 30th, 2011
11:48 am
josef
June 30th, 2011
11:33 am
You impress me with your knowledge of Georgia history.
The majority population in many counties in south ga are minorities. Many are on the dole for government help and get it. They have everything I mentioned earlier and a free college education. There are programs to retrain those out of work with a hourly rate of $8.50 per hour for 24hrs per week also included is transportation costs and childcare. I could go on but the reality of the dnc slave plantations in the south would just get ignored.
AmVet
June 30th, 2011
11:49 am
No worries, Scott. You’re entitled to your own useless opinions.
williebkind
June 30th, 2011
11:49 am
READ MY LIPS! No new taxes!
Swami Dave
June 30th, 2011
11:50 am
We are spending over $300B while taking in only $170B, yet people saying stop this madness and restrain government to its constitutional role are the ones being maligned.
This is the direct result of an infestation of the dependency culture on this country. This is what happens when entire segments of our population expect other to do FOR that what they are unwilling to do for themselves; electing politicians all too willing to acquire power by legislating it.
Liberals do with Legislation what Muggers do with Guns.
Restrain spending first. After spending restraints are codified, then we can address revenues (any increases of which to be tied to the agreed-to spending restraints). If the dependency brigades and their elected thieves remove the spending constraints, any increased revenues void as well.
This is a spending problem and those expecting others to do for them what they should do for themselves are the ones who own this “sacrifice”.
Here’s a hint to the beneficiaries of Liberal largesse: Stop expecting Taxpayers to fund your rent payments or heat bills or food stamps or health care while you spend your own money on cell phones and cable TV!
-SD.
Uncle Jed
June 30th, 2011
11:51 am
Like fingers in the dike…
Bada; Bada; you out there?
Joe Mama
June 30th, 2011
11:51 am
Brosephus — “#2 Do you really want the President to fly commercial? If you think TSA is crazy now, just imagine the TSA with an injection of Secret Service DNA. You’d probably be able to combine flying with your yearly physical by the time you’re done with security.”
NONONONONONO YOU DO *NOT* WANT THAT.
If you’ve ever flown out of Washington on a fine summer Friday afternoon and had couple dozen Congressmen, Senators and an ex-President on your Delta aircraft, you will know *exactly* why this is a bad idea.
Scott
June 30th, 2011
11:52 am
stand for decibels at 11:43. And your response shows exactly why this country is in this situation. Let me guess you are one of the union scumbags that want to protect his fellow “brothers” regardless of how many times they want to screw the company over, aren’t you? Commit time clock fraud….not a problem. We want a raise. Perform work at half speed because it does not benefit you…not a problem. We want a raise. Walk out on the job and strike because you are unhappy with some stupid BS rule…..not a problem. We want a raise. You are all about me, me, me and sure can care less about anybody else.
WOODSTOCK MIKE
June 30th, 2011
11:52 am
@Left Wing Management
Call if what you wish, the point is if Obama knows that the country will have another financial crisis if he doesn’t take the tax increases off the table are you saying that in order to save face he should allow the country to default?
willie lynch
June 30th, 2011
11:53 am
Common Sense
June 30th, 2011
10:55 am
Has it occured to you that the fastest growing economies in the world are expeiriencing that growth on the backs of slave laborers?
China and India are not fair examples because the playing field is not level. The fact that America and it’s system has had many years to get to this point can’t be overlooked when you try to offer a comparison to these other nations. America has grown to a point where people refuse to work for .25 cents per hour. Workers in America are able to partake in the “dream” of the nations prosperity through home and automobile purchases and all the attendant bling that comes with it.
If we want to compete on a level playing field we would have to cut wages, forgo regulations (further), devalue our currency and many other things that fly in the face of what America claims to be.
You are right it takes a long time to get things going in America. We need high speed rail from coast to coast. We need an extensive rail system here in Georgia. We can have all these things but if we don’t regulate the private builders and contractors how do we know the are using materials that will hold up to the task or designs that are not flawed?
Keep in mind China and India are trying to be like America. We’ve set the standard, so who are we trying to be like.
josef
June 30th, 2011
11:53 am
DAVE
Do the Nashville Agrarian historians count as MAJOR?
Well, how about a MAJOR novelist…
“The past is always a rebuke to the present.”
–Robert Penn Warren
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
June 30th, 2011
11:53 am
And those minorities include your much beloved rednecks, crackers, hillbillies and trailer trash as well.
Hey, Nix, why don’t you go for a drive up here on GA 400 today while I’m on it? I resemble that remark.
Left wing management
June 30th, 2011
11:54 am
Doggone/Joe Mama: “That’s the excuse they use. The REASON is that they are sitting on record profits without having to hire. So why hire, especially since demand doesn’t force a need for more employees and they are STILL sitting on record profilts”
Let’s recall the governing principle of the world we currently live in:
People don’t matter. Corporate bottom lines do.
While the pillow is being pressed down over your face to suffocate you, a soft voice tells you:
Shhhhh, just trust us. Let us do what we have to do. Just go with it. It’ll be easier that way.
Corporate profits are all that matter. Human lives don’t. It’s all about CAPITAL, our god.
AmVet
June 30th, 2011
11:54 am
wiiliebeklan, so you WEREN’T referring to white minorities?!
Wow…
“…union scumbags…” – GONG!
stands for decibels
June 30th, 2011
11:55 am
Let me guess you are one of the union scumbags that want to protect his fellow “brothers” regardless of how many times they want to screw the company over, aren’t you?
um… yeah. That’s me. I’m an Outsaaaad Ageetator!
Dave R.
June 30th, 2011
11:55 am
Ahhhhh, the tolerant Democrat Party and their civil discourse:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20110630binienda_apologizes_for_hitler_comment/srvc=home&position=recent
And that was over requiring lobbyists to wear ID badges!
This from the state who had a U.S. Rep recently call for “breaking heads” and “blood in the streets” when calling for action against WI union reform measures.
getalife
June 30th, 2011
11:56 am
Mike and Scott are is still clinging to the failed ideology.
Closed minded even after the collapse and the state of our economy after years of this failed ideology.
Try something new cons like a original thought.
WOODSTOCK MIKE
June 30th, 2011
11:57 am
@AmVet
You mentioned revenues being the problem, what revenue numbers are you referring to? Looks like revenues have gone up consistently over the past 2 decades and are now only slightly down?
Joe Mama
June 30th, 2011
11:57 am
Swami Dave — Thanks for including the link to your site. I appreciate it because I stop reading or responding to people who are — ahem — linkhookers.
I think you know the term I really mean.
TruthBe
June 30th, 2011
11:58 am
THE CORRUPT OBAMA ADMINISTRATION SHOULD CUT SPENDING PERIOD. The government can start by cutting all salaries of senators, congressmen, the president, and stop wasting money on foreign aid. Remember Nancy Pelosi’s private new jet, Michele Obama’s mutil-million dollar vacations. Maxine Waters get back to my roots african trip were she took over 50 family and friends on the tax payers ticket. The waste is everywhere thru-out the federal and state governments. We should go thru and cut ALL spending and reduce the government. Our Government is too big and too intrusive. Smaller Government more freedoms.
Rich
June 30th, 2011
11:58 am
For those who think that this is not a spending problem. Spending is almost double revenue. If we took all of the money from the billionaires, we could not fund the federal government more 6 months. Revenue is down 15% from 4 years ago, but deficit spending is up 9 times. Over the last 3 years spending has increase well beyond what the country can tax people.
Dave R.
June 30th, 2011
11:58 am
josef, I think you’ve succeeded in reaching the threshold for requiring fresh sheets.
I expect them any time now . . .
Rich
June 30th, 2011
11:58 am
If we use the budget from 2003, we would have a surplus.
AmVet
June 30th, 2011
11:59 am
Redneck, don’t get upset and spill any beer!
Wiilie wants to ship out Those People to California, NY and Massatusetts not you’uns.
And jonix is just a decent compassionate man, who is more prone to coddling terrorists than you or I. (grin!)
Left wing management
June 30th, 2011
11:59 am
Woodstock Mike: “Call if what you wish, the point is if Obama knows that the country will have another financial crisis if he doesn’t take the tax increases off the table are you saying that in order to save face he should allow the country to default?”
Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. He should say: there WILL be tax increases. Period. And then see what happens. (That’s what Bill Clinton in effect did, and we saw what happened then.)
As in the film The Usual Suspects, sometimes the only thing to do in a hostage crisis is to sacrifice the hostage. Remember Kayser Soze?
WOODSTOCK MIKE
June 30th, 2011
12:00 pm
@getalife
Yeah, looks like the current strategy sure is doing the trick!! Oh yeah, I forgot, we need to give it more time, right? And, it’s Bush’s fault!!
RB from Gwinnett
June 30th, 2011
12:00 pm
Not much on that list I’d care about stopping payments to. Do you suppose if we cut off free food some of the “less fortunate” might be able to work in the field for more than an hour to feed themselves and their families?
Sounds like to me if they want to prevent all this bad stuff from happening, the Dems better get busy finding some serious cuts and stop dragging their feet and making excuses. This nickle and dime crap with the name calling and scare tactics ain’t cuttin’ it.
getalife
June 30th, 2011
12:01 pm
The gop cutting and running from their debts caused by their failed ideology should close the book on their failed ideology.
You need a new party and a new ideology cons.
Get to work.
WOODSTOCK MIKE
June 30th, 2011
12:01 pm
@LWM
Yes, great movie!! I guess my response would be revenues were much higher under George Bush than Clinton so how would you explain that?
Common Sense
June 30th, 2011
12:01 pm
@Willie Lynch,
Then could you explain the unemployment levels of less than 5% under the last President?
Logical Dude
June 30th, 2011
12:01 pm
Mighty Righty: 11:04: If our credit rating is shot and we can’t borrow money, Hoorah!
Umm, you DO realize this would cause Global chaos and meltdown, right?
::eyeroll::
Scott
June 30th, 2011
12:02 pm
getalife. What is your limit? When do you say “enough is enough?” It’s 14.2 Trilion now. 18 trillion okay? 30T? No no no. how about we just get wild and go to 100 trillion dollars. Maybe that is not enough. What about 1 quadrillion? No. that number sounds rather small. let’s make it 20 quadrillion. Regardless of the number and its size, it does not mean squat to you anyways and that is just sad.
getalife
June 30th, 2011
12:02 pm
Mike,
We lost a decade.
Yes, it will take more time.
Common sense.
WOODSTOCK MIKE
June 30th, 2011
12:02 pm
@getalife
I guess you aren’t watching Obama’s approval numbers very closely, just like John Calipari’s recruits at Kentucky, he’s gonna be a one and done!
josef
June 30th, 2011
12:02 pm
Redneck
No, you don’t resemble that remark, imho. You don’t come anywhere near it.
Willie
You and I are no doubt poles apart on just about every issue that comes up, and I wouldn’t exactly phrase things the way you do nor afree with you on the whyfor of the situation or what to do about it, but on one thing we are agreed, the world outside the perimeter is one where the minority populations (black, white, brown and shades in between) are determined by an economic status restive in historical realities we simply do not want to address…
Joe Mama
June 30th, 2011
12:02 pm
LWM — “Corporate profits are all that matter. Human lives don’t. It’s all about CAPITAL, our god.”
Every time some conservative poster posts some jabber about ‘corporate uncertainty,’ I click on a link I keep on several of my PCs. It’s a chart showing the DJIA over the last three years, and if you follow the market, you know which way it’s been trending.
For all that alleged uncertainty, corporate profits and market performance certainly do seem to be doing well. Send some of that kind of uncertainty to my house, and let me know what day it’ll be delivered so I can be there to sign for it.
Soothsayer
June 30th, 2011
12:03 pm
The Entire State Of Texas Has been Declared A Natural Disaster
“This is a disaster. This is a train wreck. We’ve never seen anything like this before. People are scared, they don’t know what to do and what’s going to happen to them next.”
– Scott Harmon, farmer
“We are currently ranked as the third-worst drought on record in Texas. But each passing day moves us closer to the number one year. It is a true calamity. The impact is heartbreaking,” says Staples. “We’ve had over two million acres of dry land cotton being declared 100% abandoned. We have livestock producers that are liquidating their herds, something they’ve spent their entire lifetime building up. It’s just a dreadful set of circumstances.”
– Todd Staples, Texas Agricultural Commissioner
WOODSTOCK MIKE
June 30th, 2011
12:03 pm
@Logical Dude
So you do realize that Obama has no choice but to take the tax increases off the table, correct?
getalife
June 30th, 2011
12:05 pm
Scoot,
Surrendering to the gop debt is not a option.
We will not commit suicide like you cons want.
Debate the budget for cuts but do not steal more jobs.
It is best to cut when the economy is strong not when it is collapsing.
Common sense.
Rich
June 30th, 2011
12:05 pm
Woodstock Mike, Revenues were flat during the first 5 years of Bush compared to Clinton. The 3 years showed and increase in revenue, but an increase in spending also. Look at who controlled congress, not the White House. They control spending.
TruthBe
June 30th, 2011
12:05 pm
The democrats are LIARS. Why because they have controlled the senator, congress, and presidency and haven’t even produce a buget for the last 3 years. Obama and the corrupt dishonest democrats WHERE is your buget that you are legally required to create and bring out by law? Democrats = spend and tax ALL Americans to death. They live the good life where we the people ( suckers ) pay for it. Isn’t that so Michele wish you were here in Africa Obama.
Gator Joe
June 30th, 2011
12:06 pm
Jay,
This issue is just another example of Right Wing mindless opposition (some it race-based), except this one will carry more serious consequences. The Republican hypocrites, many of whom willingly voted to raise the debt ceiling under Republican presidents, now want to use extortion in in exchange for their votes. What is amazing in all this are average, though ignorant, Americans who unwittingly support their actions. Still more amazing, are the Republicans threatening our country in order to protect their wealthy benefactors who do not pay their fair share of taxes.
Where were all of these deficit [Chicken] Hawks during Bush/Cheney while they were causing the current problems we have? Answer: in lockstep with them.
WOODSTOCK MIKE
June 30th, 2011
12:06 pm
George W Bush was the most prolific tax collector in our nation’s history. During Clinton’s 8 years,$5.66 trillion was collected. During Bush’s 8 years,$7.45 trillion was collected.