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July 16, 2011 in Nation/World
Debt-defying GOP gets stern warning
Leaders warn of consequences
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, right, speaks during a news conference with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.
(Full-size photo)
WASHINGTON – Republican leaders in the House have begun to prepare their troops for politically painful votes to raise the nation’s debt limit, offering warnings and concessions to move the hard-line majority toward a compromise that would avert a federal default.
For weeks, GOP conservatives, particularly in the House, have issued demands about what they would require in exchange for their votes to increase the federal debt limit. In negotiations with the White House, Republican leaders have found those demands were unattainable. Unwilling to risk the economic and political consequences of a federal default, which could come as early as Aug. 2, they have started the difficult process of standing down.
At a closed-door meeting Friday, GOP leaders turned to their most trusted budget expert, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to explain to rank-and-file members what many others have come to understand: A fiscal meltdown could occur if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling.
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio underscored the point to dispel the notion that failure to allow more borrowing is an option.
“He said if we pass Aug. 2, it would be like ‘Star Wars,’ ” said Rep. Scott DesJarlais, a freshman from Tennessee. “I don’t think the people who are railing against raising the debt ceiling fully understand that.”
The warnings appeared to have softened the views of at least some House members who, until now, were inclined to dismiss statements by administration officials, business leaders and outside economists that the economic impact would be dire if the federal government were suddenly unable to pay its bills.
Freshman Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., said the presentation about skyrocketing interest rates that could result from downgraded bond ratings was “sobering.”
“It illustrates to us that doing nothing is unacceptable,” he said. “I think the conference understands this is a defining moment for us. It’s time to put the next election aside.”
At the same time, Republican leaders orchestrated a series of public moves intended to soften the blow for conservatives. They agreed to give the House an opportunity to vote on two top conservative priorities – a so-called cut-cap-and-balance bill, which would order $111 billion in cuts in federal programs for 2012 and impose a cap on future spending, and a constitutional amendment that would require a balanced federal budget.
The Democratic leadership in the Senate is also expected to allow votes on one, and perhaps both, measures. Neither is expected to become law – the constitutional amendment would require a two-thirds vote in both chambers – but the chance to vote could appeal to the tea party conservatives in the House who are most skeptical of any deal with the White House to raise the debt limit.
Congress is likely to spend much of next week on those measures, then could take up a debt-ceiling measure in the Senate toward the end of next week. Senate leaders believe they would need a week to overcome a likely filibuster by conservative senators who oppose any debt-ceiling increase.
Stocks plummet as outlook in Europe dims 
drywitt99 on July 16 at 2:36 a.m.
So the Republicans need a constitutional amendment to balance the budget???
Well….yeah I guess THEY might??
I mean no Republican President since Ike could manage to pull that off!!
Nixon couldn’t.
Ford couldn’t
Reagan couldn’t. (that’s right.. never).
And neither Bush the Elder or Bush the Lesser could.
Funny…..Clinton could.
Ask FactCheck / The Budget and Deficit Under Clinton
The Budget and Deficit Under Clinton
February 3, 2008
Q: During the Clinton administration was the federal budget balanced? Was the federal deficit erased?
A: Yes to both questions, whether you count Social Security or not.
FULL ANSWER
This chart, based on historical figures from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, shows the total deficit or surplus for each fiscal year from 1990 through 2006. Keep in mind that fiscal years begin Oct. 1, so the first year that can be counted as a Clinton year is fiscal 1994. The appropriations bills for fiscal years 1990 through 1993 were signed by Bill Clinton’s predecessor, George H.W. Bush. Fiscal 2002 is the first for which President George W. Bush signed the appropriations bills, and the first to show the effect of his tax cuts.
The Clinton years showed the effects of a large tax increase that Clinton pushed through in his first year, and that Republicans incorrectly claim is the “largest tax increase in history.” It fell almost exclusively on upper-income taxpayers. Clinton’s fiscal 1994 budget also contained some spending restraints. An equally if not more powerful influence was the booming economy and huge gains in the stock markets, the so-called dot-com bubble, which brought in hundreds of millions in unanticipated tax revenue from taxes on capital gains and rising salaries.
Clinton’s large budget surpluses also owe much to the Social Security tax on payrolls. Social Security taxes now bring in more than the cost of current benefits, and the “Social Security surplus” makes the total deficit or surplus figures look better than they would if Social Security wasn’t counted. But even if we remove Social Security from the equation, there was a surplus of $1.9 billion in fiscal 1999 and $86.4 billion in fiscal 2000. So any way you count it, the federal budget was balanced and the deficit was erased, if only for a while.
http://factcheck.org/2008/02/the-budget-and-deficit-under-clinton/
And that final sentence says it all: “…the federal budget was balanced and the deficit was erased, if only for a while.”
‘for a while”……until the Republicans “won” the White House.
So….if you feel a Constitutional amendment is requird to balance the budget……try this:
REPEAL THE 22ND AMENDMENT!!
Bring Bill back. He did something that 5 Republican presidents couldn’t!
drywitt99 on July 16 at 2:59 a.m.
Well…..if we don’t want to play around with the Constitution
(usually a bad idea) what if we adopt President Clinton’s approach:
“…some spending restraints” AND “…a large tax increase.”
After all…..American’s are paying the smallest percentage of the income in taxes in 60 years.
“Federal, state and local income taxes consumed 9.2% of all personal income in 2009, the lowest rate since 1950, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. That rate is far below the historic average of 12% for the last half-century.”
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2010-05-10-taxes_N.htm
Of course….my favorite quote from that article is:
“The idea that taxes are high right now is pretty much nuts,” says Michael Ettlinger, head of economic policy at the liberal Center for American Progress.”
Pretty much nuts.
Describes the teabaggers…..Congressional Republicans…..and of course…..hawken and Dazzed.
drywitt99 on July 16 at 3:28 a.m.
In a different thread earlier this week my good friend hawken made the following observation:
“Drywitt:
If I were a liberal, I would call you a “liar.” Since I am a conservative, I will call you “misinformed”, which is obvious on it’s face. Unfortunately, too many buy your misinformation as fact.
You say:
“Americans pay less in taxes then at any time since the early 1950s.”
Then you say:
(We) “They pay less in taxes than at any time in 60 years.”
____________________________________________
Here are the facts:
1988: 28%
1989: 28%
1990: 31%
1991: 31%
1992: 31%
2003-2011: 35%
Facts??? Really?????
hawken……that is the TOP marginal tax rate. On those Americans with the HIGHEST incomes.
You know….the RICH.
Its only natural that you would focus on the WEALTHY.
In your world only the RICH matter.
But a rational person tends to focus on the big picture.
On ALL Americans.
And as a whole…..Americans ARE paying less in incomes taxes than at any time since 1950.
And a majority of Americans see the need to pay MORE in taxes right now….not LESS.
hawken……thanks for not calling me a liar.
Especially since I did not lie.
hawken on July 16 at 7:55 a.m.
Drywitt:
Thanks for making my argument above on tax rates. I don’t want to confuse you any more than you are,,,, but,,,, it’s the rich you liberals want to raise taxes on again, today, again.
Your retort above is a “non sequitir.” It’s a logical fallacy which means “does not follow.”
Your liberal spin doesn’t work for those with half a brain.
It was George W. Bush that lowered the lowest tax rate to 10%, from 15%, in 2002, where it remains today.
Bush lowered taxes on those in the lowest tax bracket by 33.3%.
The last time the lowest bracket was 10%, prior to Bush, was 1941.
Now doesn’t that just ruin you day?
Lowest Tax Bracket:
Kennedy: 20%
Johnson: 14%
Nixon: 14%
Ford: 14%
Carter: 14%
Reagan: 11%
Bush I 15%
Clinton: 15%
Bush II 10%
http://ntu.org/tax-basics/history-of-federal-individual-1.html
____________________________________________
Your other failed spin is about Clinton.
It was the 1994 mid terms that gave the House back to Republican who forced Clinton back from his historically failed, liberal, “Keynesian” tax and spend madness.
Oh yea,,,, let’s not forget “Hillarycare,” that was also sent down in flames.
The Republican House under the leadership of Newt Gingrich, ushered in the “Contract With American,” which saved Clinton’s bacon, in spite of himself.
JBlim on July 16 at 7:59 a.m.
How embarrassing for the teabaggers. All of our time they wasted on this debt ceiling garbage and they are getting nothing. How dumb can they get? They have no problem ordering all the goods and services for the folks back home, and the for the folks in Iraq and Afghanistan, but when the get to the checkout line they refuse to pay. Morons.
hawken on July 16 at 8:02 a.m.
Now back to the main point of the article.
House Republicans will pass a bill this week “Cut, Cap and Balance.”
This will raise the debt limit temporarily giving the Congress more time to work on the larger problem.
Liberals haven’t even passed a budget in over 800 days!
Liberals have no plan today, dealing with the debt limit, other than business as usual.
Liberals have no plan concerning Social Security.
Liberals have no plan concerning Medicare.
Liberals have NO plan for anything, other than status quo.
Liberals control the Senate and Presidency.
Presidents always put a plan on the table for the Congress to debate and finalize.
Obama is an AWOL president. “Leading from behind.”
It is ONLY the Republican house that has put plans on the table.
Ninch on July 16 at 8:10 a.m.
What to do?… when Obama pretty well promised that if debt ceiling is not raised he will not pay Social Security benefits for August because “he may not be able to find the money”… and then Obama will blame the GOP… which is what Obama has been doing since DAY ONE of his administration. Bully? Adolescent behavior? Both go together. And now Dem Sheila Jackson leads out that not going along with Obama is racist (nothing new here since that has been an ongoing theme from the blind Obama followers.)
Obama is always lecturing about grownups… but unfortunately he does not see the lack of such in his own words and scare tactics.
Orphan on July 16 at 9:19 a.m.
Drywitt the president does not balance the budget, Congress does.
greenlibertarian on July 16 at 9:51 a.m.
Orphan on July 16 at 9:19 a.m.
Drywitt the president does not balance the budget, Congress does.
Not without the president’s approval.
2/3 plus one of the Congress could theoretically pass a balanced budget over a presidential veto. That’s extremely unlikely.
I guess Orphan was unaware of how bills are passed and enacted into law.
hawken on July 16 at 10:10 a.m.
*Obama and liberals have increased government spending by 25%.
*Obama and liberals have tripled the deficit.
http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/obama-triples-deficit-says-republican-plan-is-wrong/
*Obama and liberals have added more to the national debt, in his first 19 months, than all presidents and congresses from Washington to Reagan, COMBINED.
http://www.cnsnews.com/node/72404
The Total US Debt To GDP Ratio Is Now Worse Than In The Great Depression
http://www.dailymarkets.com/economy/2010/07/21/the-total-us-debt-to-gdp-ratio-is-now-worse-than-in-the-great-depression/
*Obama and liberals have given us chronic, U6 unemployment, 16.2%. The Greatest Since the Great Depression.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/06/05/eveningnews/main20069136.shtml
*Obama and liberals have given us the largest, most costly boondoggle since the Great Depression - “Obamacare.”
*Obama’s $800 billion stimulus is “Textbook, Failed, Keynesian Economics.”
________________________________
Here’s more you should know as well.
The government is constantly “modifying” the way they report unemployment and inflation, to make politicians look better than the real numbers reflect.
Unemployment is actually about 22-23% when reported as it was prior to 1994. In 1994 the government no longer counted “long term, discouraged” unemployed as we have today.
Unemployment is much greater than the 9+% government reports today.
At 22-23% unemployment we are very close to the unemployment of the Great Depression, 25%,,,, we are very close.
_________________________________
Inflation is actually about 12% when calculated as it was between 1980-1990.
Inflation is much greater than the 2-3% government reports today.
At 12% inflation, we are experiencing the Carter years which was reported at 12%.
http://www.shadowstats.com/
Orphan on July 16 at 10:11 a.m.
Green I am well aware of how the budget process works. That is why I do not hold any president totally responsable for any budget unlike others do. In the real world it is a compromise between the president and congress. Congress is as much to blame or pat on the back as the president is.
The_Seer on July 16 at 10:29 a.m.
Hawken: It is a lie to claim “liberals” don’t have a plan. I’ve posted this link repeatedly to the budget plan from the Congressional Progressive Caucus and you’ve never responded to it.
cpc.grijalva.house.gov/
Billed as “The People’s Budget” the CPC proposal places the federal budget into surplus by 2021, decades before the Ryan plan pretends to. The budget addresses all the items you list that you claim are being ignored. For instance, Social Security and Medicare are both “fixed” by a removal of the earnings cap for the employee. That is a much fairer system than which currently exists where the super wealthy pay only on the first $106,000 of their income while the rest of the country (95%) pay on every dime they make. Read the budget and then tell me that “liberals” don’t have a plan. We do have a plan and it’s more than interesting that the most fiscally responsible budget arrives from the left fringes of the Democratic party.
The poor and the elderly didn’t cause any of these problems we face and making them suffer because of it is immoral.
The_Seer on July 16 at 10:33 a.m.
Here it is, a synopsis of the only fiscally responsible budget proposal:
http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=70
Sorry for the other link, this one links to the actual budget.
The People’s Budget eliminates the deficit in 10 years, puts Americans back to work and restores our economic competitiveness. The People’s Budget recognizes that in order to compete, our nation needs every American to be productive, and in order to be productive we need to raise our skills to meet modern needs.
Our Budget Eliminates the Deficit and Raises a $31 Billion Surplus In Ten Years
Our budget protects Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and responsibly eliminates the deficit by targeting its main drivers: the Bush Tax Cuts, the wars overseas, and the causes and effects of the recent recession.
Our Budget Puts America Back to Work & Restores America’s Competitiveness
• Trains teachers and restores schools; rebuilds roads and bridges and ensures that users help pay for them
• Invests in job creation, clean energy and broadband infrastructure, housing and R&D programs
Our Budget Creates a Fairer Tax System
• Ends the recently passed upper-income tax cuts and lets Bush-era tax cuts expire at the end of 2012
• Extends tax credits for the middle class, families, and students
• Creates new tax brackets that range from 45% starting at $1 million to 49% for $1 billion or more
• Implements a progressive estate tax
• Eliminates corporate welfare for oil, gas, and coal companies; closes loopholes for multinational corporations
• Enacts a financial crisis responsibility fee and a financial speculation tax on derivatives and foreign exchange
Our Budget Protects Health
• Enacts a health care public option and negotiates prescription payments with pharmaceutical companies
• Prevents any cuts to Medicare physician payments for a decade
Our Budget Safeguards Social Security for the Next 75 Years
• Eliminates the individual Social Security payroll cap to make sure upper income earners pay their fair share
• Increases benefits based on higher contributions on the employee side
Our Budget Brings Our Troops Home
• Responsibly ends our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to leave America more secure both home and abroad
• Cuts defense spending by reducing conventional forces, procurement, and costly R&D programs
Our Budget’s Bottom Line
• Deficit reduction of $5.6 trillion
• Spending cuts of $1.7 trillion
• Revenue increase of $3.9 trillion
• Public investment $1.7 trillion
The_Seer on July 16 at 10:35 a.m.
Here is some reaction to the CPC budget:
Paul Krugman
“genuinely courageous”
“achieves this without dismantling the legacy of the New Deal”
Dean Baker
“if you want a serious effort to balance the budget, here it is.”
Jeffrey Sachs
“A bolt of hope…humane, responsible, and most of all sensible”
The Economist
“Courageous”
“Mr Ryan’s plan adds (by its own claims) $6 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, but promises to balance the budget by sometime in the 2030s by cutting programmes for the poor and the elderly. The Progressive Caucus’s plan would (by its own claims) balance the budget by 2021 by cutting defence spending and raising taxes, mainly on rich people.”
The New Republic
“In passing, Miller also draws attention something that’s gotten far too little attention in this debate. The most fiscally responsible plan seems to be neither the Republicans’ nor the president’s. It’s the Congressional Progressive Caucus plan…”
The Washington Post
“It’s much more courageous to propose taxes on the rich and powerful than spending cuts on the poor and disabled.”
Rachel Maddow
“Balances the budget 20 years earlier than Paul Ryan even tries to”
The Guardian
“the most fiscally responsible in town… would balance the books by 2021“
The Nation
“the strongest rebuke…to the unconscionable ‘Ryan Budget’ for FY 2012.”
Center for American Progress
“once again put[s] requiring more sacrifice from the luckiest among us back on the table”
Economic Policy Institute
“National budget policy should adequately fund up-front job creation, invest in long-term economic growth, reform the tax code, and put the debt on a sustainable path while protecting the economic security of low-income Americans and growing the middle class. The proposal by the Congressional Progressive caucus achieves all of these goals.”
The Washington Post
“The Congressional Progressive Caucus plan wins the fiscal responsibility derby thus far.”
Rolling Stone
“This is more than a fantasy document. It’s sound policy.”
Forbes
“instead of gutting programs for the poor like Medicaid and Medicare, food stamps, and the new healthcare law, the People’s Budget focuses on cuts in defense. It also doesn’t scrap new financial regulations designed to at least partly stave off another massive financial collapse like the one that put us in this mess in the first place.”
The_Seer on July 16 at 10:36 a.m.
I expect nothing but “crickets” from Hawken. He doesn’t want to admit how fiscally irresponsible the leaders he supports have been.
The_Seer on July 16 at 10:55 a.m.
Yep, Crickets….
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
I’m off the Indian Canyon to watch the golfers. Should be a great day out there, folks. Look for me in my “Russ Feingold for President” t-shirt!
JBlim on July 16 at 11:05 a.m.
hawken: “*Obama’s $800 billion stimulus is “Textbook, Failed, Keynesian Economics.”
Off in your little fantasy world still, eh “Dr” hawken?
Hcklbery on July 16 at 11:09 a.m.
It is inevitable that the Republicans will cave in because they care about the future of America, whereas the liberal Dems only care about how much they can mortgage America’s future.
THE THREAT OF FINANCIAL WRECKAGE MEANS NOTHING TO THEM AS THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT TO USHER IN A NEW ONE WORLD ORDER OF ECONOMIC JUSTICE FOR THE IMPOVERISHED NATIONS THAT IN THEIR VIEW AMERICA HAS PILLAGED.
Orphan on July 16 at 11:49 a.m.
Green I am going to back track and repeat that congress is responsable for balancing the budget. You are correct the president can either veto it or sign the budget thats all. Now the president can ask for money to do things but congress is still has the last word.
I am sorry to tell you the president does not have the power you think he does, unless of course the president violates the constitution like so many of them have.
hawken on July 16 at 12:51 p.m.
Seer:
Your false assertion that Liberals have a plan, by posting a generic link to: cpc.grijalva.house.gov/ is nothing more than liberal left, propaganda.
I went to the link.
You think that by overwhelming people with fallacious links, which you have not read, nor assessed yourself, is convincing.
The desperation of Liberals such as you is paramount and obvious, in light of our national, economic, crisis.
While you might mislead the uninformed with your propaganda, thinking people will not be fooled by your misleading propaganda.
You really should read your own links, asses and summarize any support you find there,,,, to support you failed, liberal left, world view.
The_Seer on July 16 at 3:29 p.m.
hawken: I corrected myself, a-hat… you know what link I meant… it’s the second one followed by excerpts from the budget plan.
Here, I’ll post it again so you can read it for the first time.
http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=70
misjustice on July 16 at 7:53 p.m.
“While you might mislead the uninformed with your propaganda, thinking people will not be fooled by your misleading propaganda.”
Right back at ya, sqawken…
The_Seer on July 16 at 7:55 p.m.
Crickets.
Hcklbery on July 19 at 4:27 p.m.
Ahhh
NUTS !!!