Obama's Debt Ceiling Smokescreen

[georgephillip]

"Obama has had his sites on Social Security and Medicare since he took office in 2008. It’s clear now, that he plans to use the cover of the stage-managed debt ceiling crisis to achieve his objective."

That's how Mike Whitney ends his brief article in

Counterpunch

titled: "The 'Debt Ceiling' Smokescreen"

Mike alleges that "the two-party duopoly" is once again using another fake government shutdown/debt ceiling 'hostage taking' melodrama to shift attention away from defunding Obamacare to negotiations on Social Security and Medicare."

"Obama will use GOP 'hostage taking' as the proximate cause for caving in, saying that he had to give ground to prevent a catastrophic default that would have pushed the economy back into recession.

"In an appearance on ABC’s lightweight News program 'This Week,' Boehner more-or-less admitted to what was going on behind-the-scenes saying:

“'Let’s look at what’s driving the problem. 10,000 baby-boomers like me retiring, every single day. 70,000 this week. 3.5 million this year. And it’s not like there’s money in Social Security or Medicare. The governments, over the last 30 years, have spent it all.”

“We know these programs are important to tens of millions of Americans, but if we don’t address the underlying problems, they are not sustainable.'”

Boehner, who's been in the US House for 23 of those 30 years, and Obama are on the same side of the current amateur night dog-and-pony fight in DC. Both serve the richest 1% of Americans; the same 1% who own America.

Neither Boehner nor Barry believe "those who own the country should have to pay for its maintenance and upkeep."

How will "choosing" between Boehner or Barry in the voting booth ever change that reality?

 

[georgephillip]

Mike does.

"The media is ratcheting up 'debt ceiling' hysteria to launch a surprise attack on Social Security and Medicare. President Obama has already stated that he’s willing to cut so called entitlements as part of a broader strategy for reigning in the debt.

"In 2011, during tense negotiations with GOP congressional leaders Obama made it clear that he was prepared to sell out his base by slashing vital funding to the old and infirm in order to reach a 'grand bargain' with the opposition party.

"Here’s what he said at the time:

“'We keep on talking about this stuff and we have these high-minded pronouncements about how we’ve got to get control of the deficit and how we owe it to our children and our grandchildren. Well, let’s step up. Let’s do it. I’m prepared to do it. I’m prepared to take on significant heat from my party to get something done. And I expect the other side should be willing to do the same thing — if they mean what they say that this is important.'”

"At the time, Obama appeared to be ready to raise the eligibility age for Medicare in exchange for GOP approval of $1 trillion in higher revenues, that is, taxes levied on the 1 percent.

"Obama’s cuts to entitlements would have amounted to roughly $3 trillion, while the higher taxes would have only netted another $1 trillion.

"Rather than pushing for higher taxes on the rich, Obama chose to barter away the crumbs that are provided to the sick and needy to induce a compromise."

The ?Debt Ceiling? Smokescreen » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

Both Bubba and Dubya failed to deliver Social Security to Wall Street.
Barry may very well succeed.

 

[waltky]

Granny says if dey ain't gonna get paid - den dey oughta go on strike...

Debt Ceiling Debate Threatens Military, Civilian Pay
Oct 20, 2015 | U.S. Defense Department paychecks are again hanging in the balance of Capitol Hill politics. This time, lawmakers have until November to raise the federal debt ceiling, allowing the government to continue paying its bills, or money will begin drying up for active-duty, civilian, contractor and retirement pay, as well as for other federal obligations.

The Treasury Department has said it will run out of borrowing power Nov. 3 unless Congress moves to lift the debt ceiling. With no increase, the federal government will essentially be living paycheck to paycheck, paying obligations as revenue comes in. It will be forced into tough spending decisions including whether to pay about $3 billion toward the military and its retirement system. "You still have some money coming in but not enough. They would have to prioritize what they would pay," said Steve Strobridge, director of government relations at the Military Officers Association of America. In all, Treasury could find itself $68 billion short of what it needs to pay all its bills during November and about 31 percent of its obligations would go unpaid without an increase in the debt ceiling from Congress, according to an analysis by Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C., think tank. When reached Monday, the Pentagon referred questions to the Treasury Department.

With just two weeks to go, Congress has yet to float a solution. "If you look at history, they [lawmakers] have never defaulted before. But if you look at the present, we've never had this situation before," Strobridge said. Uncertainty has deepened in the House as a Republican majority struggles with a leadership crisis after Speaker John Boehner announced he will resign. Boehner was ousted by the fiscal conservatives in his party who support reining in spending – and prefer a more confrontational approach with Democrats. The Senate also is locked in a fight that has paralyzed the defense budget and other spending. Conservatives led by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, have vowed to oppose any spending measure that does not cut funds to Planned Parenthood, while Democrats have blocked budget bills because they want caps lifted on domestic spending.

The intransigence will complicate any deal on the debt ceiling. "You've got the potential for a serious train wreck," Strobridge said. The White House has called for Congress to come together and lift the limit. "There's no reason for us to engage in that kind of irresponsible brinksmanship, and it's why Republican leaders in Congress need to accept the responsibility that they have to act without drama and delay to raise the debt limit," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday. While a default would damage the wider U.S economy, it is also the most recent in a series of fiscal crises in Washington to test the nerves of the military community.

MORE

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

The debt 'ceiling' is a smokescreen, a ridiculous, meaningless political contrivance.