Associated Press
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) yesterday said he would do in 2013 exactly what he did in 2011: use the debt ceiling to hold the nation hostage. As Boehner sees it, Democrats have to give in, or he'll trash the full faith and credit of the United States and crash the economy on purpose.
And why did Boehner declare his intentions in mid-May? Because the Speaker is trying to shape upcoming tax-policy negotiations, applying leverage to get what he wants. The problem, as Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner noted yesterday, is that Boehner's calendar doesn't quite work.
At the end of this year, an enormous fight is looming over taxes and revenue, when all of the Bush-era tax cuts are set to expire, just as major spending cuts from the debt-ceiling agreement are set to begin. This doesn't directly relate to the debt-ceiling fight, but Boehner wants it to -- yesterday was partly about sending a signal to the White House. The Speaker was effectively saying, "I'm holding a gun to the nation's head; if you don't want me to pull the trigger, don't push for any tax increases."
But Geithner spoke at the same fiscal summit, and said something interesting.
"[O]n the current estimates ... we're likely to hit the debt limit sometime before the end of the year, but Congress has given the executive branch a set of tools that buy [administration officials] some time. And those tools will probably take us into the early part of 2013, thus separating somewhat the timing of the expiry of the tax cuts and the sequester with the ultimate need for Congress to act on the debt limit. You know, they should do it as soon as they can, but that's the basic sequence in this context."
That may sound a little clunky, but in everyday terms, the Treasury Secretary was explaining that policymakers will be dealing with expiring tax cuts and triggered spending cuts in December, but won't be dealing with the debt ceiling until January and February.
Boehner wants to tie the debt limit to the December discussion, but the administration has no reason to play along. Indeed, at this point, we don't even know who'll be the President or the House Speaker the next time the ceiling needs to be raised.
To be sure, the variables may change, and as Brian Beutler noted, if federal receipts slow, the deadline for the debt-ceiling vote may come much sooner.
But for now, Boehner has a strategy that he probably won't be able to execute.
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The Tea Party Terrorists are at it again, out to destroy America's good credit rating!
Those that oppose fiscal responsibility inadvertently support economic ruin for this country. Putting on our "Rose Colored Glasses" and "Pollyanna" attitude, while makes us feel better, does nothing to solve the many problems of our country.
This Administration and Congress have proved incapable of making the right choices by not passing a budget in over 1000 days, continued unsustainable spending, and supporting unrealistic tax revenue levels. Do we as a country really want to end up like a Greece, Europe, or California?
Sometimes when people don't move on drastic situations, drastic measures are in order.
Their hatred of Obama overwhelms everything else. They'll tie more tax cuts for the rich to anything and everything. They'll make the US even more of a laughinstock.
FromDownHere keeps mistaking the deficit issue with the current spending when in fact it is the previous Republican administration and Congress that incurred all the spending for tax cuts, two wars and a giveaway to BigPharm that is continuing. All of this spending continues because Republicans are unwilling to pay for those things. We will end up like Greece and Europe if we impose austerity cuts on government. This has been tried and Europe with the exception of Germany is going through the second dip of another recession. The drastic measures needed are to return the tax rates to the Clinton era by allowing the tax cuts to expire, the sequester which is already in place and the cuts that have already been made in domestic programs. Those measures will cut the deficit in half or more. Another drastic measure would be to impose the Buffet rule which would equalize taxes on all income levels.
Not to worry. Interest payments on our debt are not in jeopardy should the debt ceiling be in question.
There really should be a special line at the IRS for those that wish tax increases on others so their personal income can be taxed at a higher rate.
I pay plenty of taxes and would only wish less on everyone else, unfortunately we may all have to suffer to get out of this mess created by all current and past Administrations and Congresses, but I only concede to higher taxes for anyone after the all waste, redundant programs, fraud, and inefficiencies in government are eliminated first.
Remember.... "Do onto others....."
It would appear that arrogant Bully Boehner is as knowledgeable, accurate and informed as usual.
Which is, of course, not at all - except for being the arrogant bully.
Boehner and the GOP are just pulling this stunt (which actually netted them a very severe loss of approval last time around) to try to get headlines, and of course please the Club for Growth--not the actual voters. After all the Tea Party may no longer approve of the guys they elected but all the voters in their districts approve of them even less.
I can't see these guys making any real headway. By the way, the Guardian UK has news that manufacturing and housing starts are up in the US. Where
The Republicans want to talk about the deficit and shift the discussion from the "income inequality" issue. Discussing the deficit is a backhand way of talking about taxes and budget cuts. Dems should propose a budget based on the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, the sequester and toss in a few repeal of subsidies to corporate interests. Dems can then say their budget cuts the deficit. If Republicans reject the Dem budget they will have to propose one and it will contain more tax cuts that are unpaid for as well as severe cuts in domestic programs. That will return the discussion toward income inequality and the fairness issue which is what Republicans want to avoid as an election issue.
Here's hoping that drunken Boehner loses his speakership. He definitely should. But will he lose it to Nancy Pelosi or to some other RW nutter even worse than him?
If this is to become a recurring national nightmare, it would be best the next time around just to pull out the fixes that weren't tried last summer:
1) Treasury making as many $1 trillion coins as necessary, or
2) the President utilizing the 14th Amendment argument.
This simply can't be allowed to continue. It's even more important than appropriately dealing with the filibuster.
As Bugs Bunny would say, "What a maroon!" Can Bonehead actually walk and smoke a cigarette at the same time?
More completely meaningless nonsense and wasting of taxpayer money from the self-proclaimed "fiscal conservatives."
The Fuzzy Math gets them all the time. They must not be very good at timing things. Or are they? Do you think they are actually trying to sabotage Romney? What better way then a fake crisis. What would Romney do? I don't know, and we'll probably never find out. He would kill Medicaire and then he's gonna go after Social Security. He is going to rob the American People dry and then he is going to sit back and watch us die. Do you actually think he is going to invite the Tea Party to watch? Not a chance he is of Mormon faith. He will invite the Mormons to watch us all die.
As Rachel would say, "John Boehner is bad at his job."
A big part of the problem with the GOP suicide bomber strategy is that they have already shown that they cannot be trusted to honor their own agreements. Recent action on the Pentagon budget sequester should kill any idea that the Republicans will act in good faith.
It's rather like getting hijacked before 9/11. A hijacking was dangerous and disruptive for the passengers and crew of an airliner, but the result was generally that you spent a long time in the plane, and then the hijackers would get kinda what they wanted (release of political prisoners, money, a helicopter, trip to Cuba). Passengers and crew were taught to keep cool heads and wait it out. After 9/11, everyone knows that a hijacker is likely to seek the death of everyone by crashing the jet into something. Now, if anyone tries to pull a knife, light their shoes or otherwise take control, they can expect that everyone on the plane will dogpile them without hesitation.
Everyone now knows that the GOP is untrustworthy in negotiations. There is no justification for making deals. Nothing they are offered in exchange for preserving U.S. credit can be worth their empty promise to behave.
Great metaphor, but Dems are too moderate and sensible to use it.
Yea, why deal with issues around the debt now? Let's wait until we find out who is President and it becomes a crisis. Who wants to do all the boring work before hand anyway?
Boehner: Nobody make a move or I'll shoot myself!
Given the Obama campaign's recently demonstrated taste for raw red meat, I can't help seeing this as another "Thank You, God!" moment in Democratic Party Headquarters.
Last year's debt ceiling fiasco was a major PR disaster for the Republicans. The outcome was set to put off another until 2012 in large part to let the public forget about it by this November.
And here Boehner make it a headline issue again and hands it to every Democrat running for office this fall.
We can't stop the Supreme Courts ruling. But we can do this!
http://www.change.org/petitions/major-media-companies-stop-accepting-money-from-superpacs
Obama/Biden and all other democrats in 2012!!!