“And that sets the stage for yet another fight on Capitol Hill, where some Republican lawmakers view the debt limit as leverage in negotiations with President Obama over spending cuts and reforms to Medicare and Social Security.
US Hits Debt Ceiling, Yet Another Crisis After Crisis Of the Fiscal Cliff
The nation has sweated its way to the fiscal cliff, but as you probably know with our do-nothing Congress, this isn’t going to be the only big fight on the agenda. After this one is over, there is the little issue of the national debt and the debt ceiling. The US government has mounted a whopping debt total of $16.394 trillion dollars, enough money to make any of us cringe. The US officially hits the debt ceiling this Monday, which is another financial crisis to compound on top of the last one.
Our wonderful government officials are not all that concerned with the long-term viability of our nation and are instead focused on getting re-elected. As a result, they keep putting band aids on wounds that require major surgery. Rather than implementing the tax increases and spending cuts necessary to deal with the debt in the right way, we keep pushing the limits and holding the country over for one year after the next.
In a letter sent to Congress this week, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says that he has been using “extraordinary” measures to keep from going above the debt ceiling. The debt issuance suspension move implemented by Geithner expires on February 28th, which means that we have until that day to deal with the problem. Of course our wonderful legislators are going to keep us waiting until the last few minutes before anything gets done.
The last time that President Obama bumped heads with Republicans over the debt ceiling issue, the US government came very close to actually defaulting on its debt, something that would have been inconceivable in the recent past. Says Geithner:
“By taking those steps, Treasury can buy about $200 billion of headroom. That normally can cover about two months’ worth of borrowing, although continuing uncertainty about tax rates and spending make it hard to determine precisely how long the extraordinary measures will last. ”The bottom line: Congress will have to raise the debt ceiling soon — as soon as late February.
8 Responses to US Hits Debt Ceiling, Yet Another Crisis After Crisis Of the Fiscal Cliff
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All they have to do is take back all of the money they gave affirmative action negroes who created no jobs. Let’s see…
Oprah’s 2 billion will help
and the rest of them would amount to a few billion
Yep I see tax liens and lawsuits acoming down the pike.
When this administration came into being the word was “capitalize on each and every crisis”
Now it’s “continuous crisis will allow us to do as we please”
Running the government in this manner allows the President and his administrations to by pass the Congress!
It’s all part of the overall plan to do whatever whenever, it’s the reason Senator Reed has not pass a budget in FOUR YEARS, so the President can spend at will!
When it’s all said and done we will see how many will admit to voting for President Obama.
If only we would stop following the party line like lemmings and research what we are told by the Media Pundit! Perhaps then we would not act as if the President is the leader of a Cult! How in the world can we think everything he says, everything he does is the right thing!
Bush did a lot less to hurt us, we the people, and we gave him h**l
on everything!
We will regret not holding Presidents feet to the fire! The debt crisis allows him to ignore you and I, he had money enough to give Hollywood $237 million yesterday to find out how to keep picture making in Hollywood! what!!! That’s about the same amount Hollywood gave to his re-election!
I guess that’s why they are calling us uninformed voters!
Tax the Federal Reserve to pay the national debt. It is a private bank, not part of the Federal Government. Wake up America! The “fiscal cliff” talk is about the investors in the Federal Reserve collection on their loans to the government! It is a shakedown led by the Republicans, but allowed by the Democrats. WAKE THE F**K UP!!!
This whole debate about the deficit and the National debt is really based upon the Tea Party and their buddies who do not want to spend money for the poor, for health care, for students, and certainly not anything on Black folks problems.
The rightwing nuts RE-THUG-LICANS keep whining and complaining about “too much spending” — but they won’t even consider cutting a dime from CORPORATE WELFARE that is given to rich companies…like BIG OIL. Most people would be shocked to find out that BILLIONS of dollars go to wealthy companies, rich farms…to pay for contracts to build military equipment we don’t need…to finance nuclear deals we don’t need…. and much more.
They have duped folks into worrying about spending for MEDICARE, MEDICAID, MEALS ON WHEELS, FOOD STAMPS and PELL GRANTS.
It is all an utter shame and disgrace.
This whole debate about the “fiscal cliff” and how there is too much spending is just obscene. SOME OF THE DEMS…. like Congressman Ellison have the priorities straight…cut CORPORATE WELFARE…
http://current.com/shows/the-young-turks/videos/rep-ellison-if-republicans-want-to-do-cuts-we-should-do-cuts-from-corporate-welfare
MOST PEOPLE have been bamboozled to think that “The U.S. is broke.” That is simply not the case. Millionaires, billionaires, and big corporations have more money now than ever before in history. They are HOARDING it …trillions of dollars.
Those who whine and complain — trying to BLAME OBAMA for everything wrong under the sun are off base. Pres. Obama has done a lot to try to help working people, cut taxes on workers pay, to continue the unemployment funds, etc. It is the rightwing nuts who have been voting to cut off almost every fund that helps people …even FEMA.
Black folks who keep up all the petty complaints…have a right to do so. But when it gets down to it… Black people are like a group of slaves who BLAME their sorry plight on Toby (Kunta Kinte) cause he ran away from the plantation.
RE-THUG-LICANS act to protect them from higher taxes …and to get them subsidies. If Congress would STOP THE WARS…bring our troops home… cut off all the “Gov’t WELFARE” (subsidies) that go to OIL, COAL, GAS, NUCLEAR, rich FARMS…and other wealthy people…that alone might cut the deficit in half.
This time Republicans and especially Mitch and John Boehner are going to get it hard. President Obama is going to use his pen to raise debt ceiling. Let them whine as much as they want. We are not going to let Republicans hold America economy hostage just for to advance their racism. President Obama had enough with their behavior during his first term. If Mitch and John B don’t like they can jump in the lake.