Debt Ceiling Brinksmanship Could Sink Economy

Bloomberg:

Europe is crumbling.

Read the whole story at Bloomberg

Comments

[MekhongKurt]

11:22 AM on 06/01/2012

Unfortunately, the financial destruction of America matters not one whit to Speaker Boehner, GOP Quasi-Pope Norquist, etc.

Just so long as they can destroy the President.

They're like genuinely dedicated kamikze pilots -- but flying wing after wing of bombers loaded with nuclear weapons.

They think an appropriate solution to curing a cancer in your arm (but not theirs) is to amputate the upper half of your body. Yeah, that works for sure.

[Paulie21]

06:04 PM on 05/29/2012

If Boehner sinks the economy....

[jwmmjjj]

05:01 PM on 05/29/2012

Then Boehner will have accomplished what he set out to do. He wants the economy to suffer in hopes of unseating President Obama.

[salesdude]

03:02 PM on 05/29/2012

WE all know what the republicans are up to. The question is are the independents who will decide this election in the swing states smart enough to see through their ruse and punish them at the ballot box?

Since the majority of identified independent voters in this country are young to middle-aged working women, I suspect their Bee Esse detector is working just fine.

[Ama1]

02:56 PM on 05/29/2012

Post 2 of 2:
NO WELFARE DEMOCRACY
Their intention IS to destroy unions. Unions are the last formal group providing economic representation to the general population. ( One of Hitler's first actions was to dissolve unions ). Stack the deck in favor of the Oligarchs ... so that ultimately resistance and survival become mutually exclusive. This is the "welfare democracy" we continually hear from conservatives and the Free Market cultists.

NO NANNY STATE
Their intention IS to destroy the middle class. Reduce the economic power of the middle class to eliminate resistance to their agenda. Keep people focused on necessities while "elites" do as they please. The government is a competitor, providing free services that could be profitable
( police, fire, teachers, etc. ). This is the "Nanny State" we continually hear from conservatives and the Free Market cultists.

DON"T TAX JOB CREATORS
Their intention IS to make tax policy even more regressive. Continue upward redistribution of wealth, reduce the government to the point assets are sold at fire sale prices ( privatization ). Saddle those groups with the debt from the purchase. Taxes / fees on the low and middle income are now used to pay costs plus debt ( leveraged buy-out ) to investors. Run without reinvestment so continual crises can be used to further increase taxes / fees, scapegoating government inefficiency or corruption. This is the dogma of "not taxing the job creators" we continually hear from conservatives and the Free Market cultists.

[Ama1]

02:41 PM on 05/29/2012

Post 1 of 2:

The GOP / Tea Party has no intention of "saving" the economy. The objectives are documented by conservative politicians, pundits and authors. However, it takes some research to really understand the diabolical nature of their agenda. Sadly, anyone without a basic understanding of macroeconomics could easily be deceived and ultimately led to their own misfortune.

CREATIVE DESTRUCTION
The intention IS to destroy the economy, as we know it. They must destroy what exists so it can be rebuilt to maximize the benefit to themselves primarily through wealth redistribution and privatization of state assets. This is the process of "creative destruction" we continually hear from conservatives and the Free Market cultists. The bank bailout went a long way toward an upward redistribution of wealth. Rumsfeld and Cheney used Iraq to outsource ( privatize ) many military services to select companies such as Haliburton. Bechtel, CH2M Hill, Fluor, Blackwater, and more via sole source contracts with little to no oversight. Many states have now started down the same path with charter schools, teachers, privatizing roads, bridges, parking meters, fire departments, water departments, etc.

ECONOMIC FREEDOM
Their intention IS to defund the government ( "starve the beast" ). This will allow for easier ( cheaper ) plundering of state assets as well as eliminate the ability of government to regulate business. This is the "economic freedom" we continually hear from conservatives and the Free Market cultists. ANY government intervention is seen as an obstacle to free market profiteering.

[SPacific]

02:27 PM on 05/29/2012

President Obama should do what Bill Clinton originally suggested: raise the cap unilaterally.....Show some huevos Barack!!

[grf67]

02:22 PM on 05/29/2012

This is boehner, mcconnell, cantor and romney at their very best. It is all about them no matter what happens to the country or the american workers. Not one of them is fit for public office.

[pamie0424]

01:56 PM on 05/29/2012

Okay....sink the economy just to fulfill your stated objective of bringing Obama down? How can ANY rational person, Dem or Repub, think that this is a good idea? You want to destroy the middle class and the country to fulfill political ideology? Go ahead....then see what the voters do in November and we will all deal with the consequences.

Meanwhile, I am going to call, email, facebook, & twitter every politician that I can and let them know what I think of this debacle happening again! YOU ARE ALL WELCOME TO JOIN ME!!!!! One way or another... we are all in this together.

[RUKidding0]

02:00 PM on 05/29/2012

Your last sentence finally approaches the truth.

One way or another... we are NOT all in this together.

Together, we fight, divorced we run our own lives and take the consequences.

[salesdude]

03:44 PM on 05/29/2012

What a load...Somalia must be a utopia in your estimation.

[pamie0424]

01:13 AM on 05/30/2012

But we all live in this country, don't we?  What ever is done or decided has an effect even if an indirect one.....    just sayin'

[FBueller]

04:54 PM on 05/29/2012

From your 2nd question "how can ANT rational person.........". They (GOP leadership) are not rational. On any number of issues.

[pamie0424]

01:13 AM on 05/30/2012

Yeah, you are right.  Fundamentalist ideologies are rational.

[holycowbatman]

01:51 PM on 05/29/2012

If they are taking hostages, let's get the SWAT team ready to take them out once they refuse to let the hostages go. It would make a compelling movie and I have lots of popcorn.

[BeerRun]

01:59 PM on 05/29/2012

We should just label them Terroists and they lock them all up forever.

[Magrum Yuff]

02:26 PM on 05/29/2012

That doesn't work. Arrest and detain a bunch of ideological terrorists, and a new generation of ideological terrorists will crop up to replace them. The solution in a democracy is the ballot box.

There is something we can do now that will make a huge difference: Contact your local Democratic organization and volunteer to help with voter registration.

If you volunteer to knock on doors, they will provide you with a roster of registered Dems to call on, all within walking distance of your home (assuming you don't live in the boonies). It's a great way to meet your Dem neighbors.

They will train you and give you the materials and locations, so that you can help voters make sure there are no problems with their voter registration. Additionally, you can make sure that they are set up with an absentee ballot, in case they don't have a photo ID or they can't get Election Day off from work.

In this way, we can offset the effects of the Republicans’ voter suppression initiatives.

Where to start? Click here to find your local Barack Obama campaign headquarters --> http://www.barackobama.com/offices

GET OUT THE VOTE 2012!!!!

Obama/Biden 2012 Clinton/Warren 2016

USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

[voyager44]

01:45 PM on 05/29/2012

if it were not for the immense pain and suffering it would cause many, many Americans and the potential threat to American stability and world economic stability, I would say:

do it, time for everyone to learn some painful lessons...

the republicans are ethically and morally corrupt and fundamentally unfit to govern

[TOPCAT711]

01:39 PM on 05/29/2012

bring it

[newpoliticaljunkie]

01:24 PM on 05/29/2012

Small children learn from their mistakes easier than the GOP does........

[raja79]

01:20 PM on 05/29/2012

I have a starting point for slashing government spending. Let's start with slashing the salaries of congress and senate members by 60% and then making them foot the bill for their own health care and getting them off the government rolls. When they come up with a solution that is good for the country and actually helps the MAJORITY of the American people-- then they can have full pay and benefits back. Let's see how fast they run across the aisle towards each other.

[DorightWoman]

01:19 PM on 05/29/2012

If Boehner does this again, he should be held for treason.

[BeasleysMom]

01:49 PM on 05/29/2012

Boehner is helpless and ineffectual. He is unable to control anything the House does. NEVER send a boy to do a woman's job.

[Littlekit]

02:05 PM on 05/29/2012

He is a pawn to Norquist,Koch bros.,Rove et.al. He knows he is finished if he crosses the line.