US national debt

[DS]

US national debt
What are the possible consequences of the failure to implement some changes ?
" Barack Obama has failed to persuade the Republican majority in Congress to raise the national debt ceiling. That much is nothing new, and similar attempts will be unlikely to succeed in the future. Since July 10, the White House has been holding daily consultations on raising the ceiling. The current ceiling of $14.3 trillion must be raised by several hundred billion, or the Department of the Treasury will run out of money by August 2."

What is the overall feeling of a US citizen?
It sounds scary,but I'm no economist,nor politically informed.
Is anyone scared?

This is a Russian article I found
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20110714/165189172.html

 

[The Other Side]

It is the JOB of the congress to create, submit and pass a long term budget. Since the republicans have taken control of congress, they have only been able to pass short term budgets and kick the can down the road while asking for CUTS in social security, medicare and medicaid and trying to PIN that on Barack Obama.

The president has been clear, if that happens he will veto the bill. A mix of tax increases on the top 1% along with cuts in defense and social projects is whats required and the republicans ONLY want cuts and NO tax increases on themselves or their corporate friends who's lobbists are paying millions of dollars to prevent.

What is scary is that the republicans continue to hold america hostage, keeping fuel prices high, the stock markey in limbo and the likelyhood that the country's credit rating wil be cut COSTING every american a FORTUNE in interest rate increases.

EVERY american will recieve an INSTANT tax increase when the deadline passes without an agreement and THAT can be blamed directly on the REPUBLICANS.

Its that easy.

Peace.

 

[Babagounj]

tos , have you seen the CBO estimates the current plan will actually increase spending come 2016, yes increase spending.
I just love how you repeat "kicking the can" , so original.
And still trying to blame the GOP, like the dems don't exist.
Now how did WE get into this mess, oh ya it was all that wildly uncontrolled spending. So in your twisted mind frame , the only solution would be to increase taxes, during a depression , now that will really motivate businesses to start hiring again.

 

[klein]

And Baba, want to default ?
Go ahead, like there aren't enough forclosure homes already.
Pay tripple the interest, lets see if people can afford the extra $500 per month on a mortgage ! Go, go try it !
Don't bother travelling outside the country either, since the US dollar would be less then half of what it's worth today !
And ofcourse that would bring up all commodity prices, your gasoline prices skyrocketing twice the value.

I'm actually hoping for it, - so you'll find out what hit you, and your tea-party belief !

 

[brett636]

Defaulting really isn't an issue here. Sure some spending will have to be re organized, but the government will still be operating August 3rd, and by that time the tax revenues collected will already have exceeded the required amount of money to pay our obligations. We need $29 billion to pay the interest on the debt for August, and in the first 3 days of August $36 billion in tax revenues will be collected. There will be no default, but other areas will suffer because the government won't have the money to support them. It is projected $206 billion in tax revenues will be collected, but spending is projected to be a little over $300 billion. This is not sustainable and if not stopped now will result in a default later. Tax increases simply won't help the problem as its akin to giving an alcoholic a drink. Sure they will seem fine now, but later it will be right back to where you started. Its time for the government to learn to live within its means, and if that means painful cuts now so be it. I would rather they bite the bullet today rather than us all take a bullet later.

 

[klein]

Just remember the magic 38 !
That's right, 38 - meaning 38% of US government money that is currently spend, on SS, Medicare, Military, and all other means is borrowed.
Cut the 38% off the budget and you have it made ! (doubt that will ever work though)
Who is really willing to take a 38% pay decrease in SS, and give up 38% of medicare ?

 

[Babagounj]

klein, your magic number is 0.
How can you associate 38% of spending into 38% cuts as a solution ?
That makes no sense.
A quicker solution would be to abolish Obamacare and make all federal employees pick up more of their health care costs, just like those in the private sectors are made to do. Case in point, That school district in Wisc now predicts a $1.5m surplus instead of another yearly deficit.

 

[trplnkl]

klein, your magic number is 0.
How can you associate 38% of spending into 38% cuts as a solution ?
That makes no sense.
A quicker solution would be to abolish Obamacare and make all federal employees pick up more of their health care costs, just like those in the private sectors are made to do. Case in point, That school district in Wisc now predicts a $1.5m surplus instead of another yearly deficit.

Not only a savings of tax dollars, the cost of the employee's health care dropped dramatically when the state government no long had to deal solely with the union owned health insurance company.

 

[The Other Side]

tos , have you seen the CBO estimates the current plan will actually increase spending come 2016, yes increase spending.
I just love how you repeat "kicking the can" , so original.
And still trying to blame the GOP, like the dems don't exist.
Now how did WE get into this mess, oh ya it was all that wildly uncontrolled spending. So in your twisted mind frame , the only solution would be to increase taxes, during a depression , now that will really motivate businesses to start hiring again.

How'd we get into this mess? is your question? Seriously?

How about tax cuts for the rich that put a 3 trillion dollar hole in the deficit during the bush term? How about 2 wars still unpaid at a cost of 3 trillion more? How about a prescription drug bill that was passed by republicans at a cost of a half a trillion that has gone unpaid? How about multiple bailouts to banks and wall street cronies during the bush term for another couple of trillion?

When Obama took office, the debt stood at 10.7 trillion dollars. Its 14.3. trillion as we speak, and it has to go higher to keep the country from collapsing.

How did we get into this mess?

Well, how about a housing bubble that started with BUSH"S "home ownership society" that asked for 6 million new homes to be built in 8 years, how about the "downpayment assistance act" that BUSH introduced and passed to give away taxpayer money to unqualified home buyers who would otherwise be unable to buy a home? Once that bubble burst, it was game over for this countries economic future for years to come.

How about oil prices under BUSH reaching 150 dollars a barrel? Fuel prices at the pump reaching and eclipsing 5 bucks a gallon under bush?

How about the massive job losses under BUSH that reigned for his last two years as they "KICKED THE CAN" down the road with stimulus programs until OBAMA took office?

How did we get into this mess?

How about the enrons, tyco's and worldcom's who collapsed under BUSH and wiped out the majority of pension savings programs for ALL AMERICANS? How about the collapse of wall street under bush where the market plunged from 14000 to 6800?

How did we get into this mess?

How about the 11.8 million jobs that were shipped overseas under BUSH while those same corporations took the largest tax cuts since Reagan did it?

You cry about the budget, yet supported the very party that ran the ship into the ground, and now you want to blast the guy trying to pull it out of the ditch!

Better re-take history my friend, it seems to escape you.

Peace.

 

[brett636]

How'd we get into this mess? is your question? Seriously?

How about tax cuts for the rich that put a 3 trillion dollar hole in the deficit during the bush term? How about 2 wars still unpaid at a cost of 3 trillion more? How about a prescription drug bill that was passed by republicans at a cost of a half a trillion that has gone unpaid? How about multiple bailouts to banks and wall street cronies during the bush term for another couple of trillion?

When Obama took office, the debt stood at 10.7 trillion dollars. Its 14.3. trillion as we speak, and it has to go higher to keep the country from collapsing.

How did we get into this mess?

Well, how about a housing bubble that started with BUSH"S "home ownership society" that asked for 6 million new homes to be built in 8 years, how about the "downpayment assistance act" that BUSH introduced and passed to give away taxpayer money to unqualified home buyers who would otherwise be unable to buy a home? Once that bubble burst, it was game over for this countries economic future for years to come.

How about oil prices under BUSH reaching 150 dollars a barrel? Fuel prices at the pump reaching and eclipsing 5 bucks a gallon under bush?

How about the massive job losses under BUSH that reigned for his last two years as they "KICKED THE CAN" down the road with stimulus programs until OBAMA took office?

How did we get into this mess?

How about the enrons, tyco's and worldcom's who collapsed under BUSH and wiped out the majority of pension savings programs for ALL AMERICANS? How about the collapse of wall street under bush where the market plunged from 14000 to 6800?

How did we get into this mess?

How about the 11.8 million jobs that were shipped overseas under BUSH while those same corporations took the largest tax cuts since Reagan did it?

You cry about the budget, yet supported the very party that ran the ship into the ground, and now you want to blast the guy trying to pull it out of the ditch!

Better re-take history my friend, it seems to escape you.

Peace.

Funny, nearly everything you just said was either partially or completely false. Seems to me you are the one who needs the history lesson, and my time is too valuable to spend it cluing you in on everything that you just stated which was wrong.

 

[menotyou]

The debt ceiling was raised 72 times when Bush was president. Why wasn't Eric Cantor stomping his feet then?John Baynor was too busy smoking cigars with a golf club in his hand to wave his hands in the air.Hypocrisy, plain and simple.

 

[trplnkl]

The debt ceiling was raised 72 times when Bush was president. Why wasn't Eric Cantor stomping his feet then?John Baynor was too busy smoking cigars with a golf club in his hand to wave his hands in the air.Hypocrisy, plain and simple.

Do we know that Cantor and Boehner voted for those 72 increases? If they did, it would seem that their actions today are hypocritical, or maybe not. Circumstances today may be different from then, I truly don't know.

 

[The Other Side]

Do we know that Cantor and Boehner voted for those 72 increases? If they did, it would seem that their actions today are hypocritical, or maybe not. Circumstances today may be different from then, I truly don't know.

TRIP,

on strick party lines, all republicans voted for increasing the debt ceiling under BUSH and a majority of democrats voted against it. The record is clear. How do you think BUSH got to 10.7 trillion in debt by the end of his term?

Peace.

 

[Babagounj]

Via the Cato Institute.
​

 

[menotyou]

72 times?

 

[Buddybrown]

You want to talk about hypocrites? Obama as Senator in 2006 voted against raising the debt ceiling. Earlier this year he said it was a mistake, just like his whole Presidency! Community organizers don't have a clue about how business works. That my friends is why we're in the mess we are in today!

 

[bbsam]

You want to talk about hypocrites? Obama as Senator in 2006 voted against raising the debt ceiling. Earlier this year he said it was a mistake, just like his whole Presidency! Community organizers don't have a clue about how business works. That my friends is why we're in the mess we are in today!

Now that's keeping it nice and simple for the Tea Party crowd. Who cares if it's wrong?

 

[Buddybrown]

Now that's keeping it nice and simple for the Tea Party crowd. Who cares if it's wrong?

Another misinformed liberal, how surprising Read it and weep! Obama Regrets Vote Against Raising Debt Limit

 

[bbsam]

Another misinformed liberal, how surprising Read it and weep! Obama Regrets Vote Against Raising Debt Limit

Another obtuse conservative, not too surprising. Your post dealt with two statements. The first being that Obama voted against the debt ceiling as a senator is simple fact. The over-reaching extrapolation of that fact pertaining to community organizers not knowing how business works being the reason the country is in the mess it is in is simply false.

 

[brett636]

Another obtuse conservative, not too surprising. Your post dealt with two statements. The first being that Obama voted against the debt ceiling as a senator is simple fact. The over-reaching extrapolation of that fact pertaining to community organizers not knowing how business works being the reason the country is in the mess it is in is simply false.

Steve Wynn, billionaire businessman and democrat supporter would disagree with you. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/vi...ess_responsible_for_this_fear_in_america.html