The GOP's debt limit strategy

It's the biased, slanted 'Mr Bill', again!

Looks like the strategy is to kill the economy, either by shutting down the government, or by de-funding everything so it shuts down anyway. What's the difference?

De-funding foreign aid and three wars? No more ceiling.

Don Joe wrote:

Looks like the strategy is to kill the economy, either by shutting down the government, or by de-funding everything so it shuts down anyway. What's the difference?

No, they want to put the USA into bankruptcy, and then try to point fingers at someone else.

Mr_Bill wrote:

<quoted text>
No, they want to put the USA into bankruptcy, and then try to point fingers at someone else.

Agreed, the problem they are probably discussing is how to dodge the immediate impact of their decisions, like de-funding our military actions and putting troops in danger.

That impact, and other "immediate" impacts like that one will be hard to redirect the blame when it happens.

The economy impact may be too hard to the discern clear blame. But not paying our troops is something Repubs will have to take the blame for.

The debt ceiling has been raised 10 times in the last decade. That's how we got into this mess in the first place. Borrow some more money. Borrow some more money.

So, what the heck. Let's borrow some more money again.

tidy catz wrote:

The debt ceiling has been raised 10 times in the last decade. That's how we got into this mess in the first place. Borrow some more money. Borrow some more money.
So, what the heck. Let's borrow some more money again.

The argument must be made during the budget, not for the debt ceiling.
The money is already spent by that time; the debt ceiling just pays the bills by borrowing. The alternative is not; to cut spending, but it is to not pay due bills.

Understand the difference. It is bankruptcy.

Mr_Bill wrote:

<quoted text>
The argument must be made during the budget, not for the debt ceiling.
The money is already spent by that time; the debt ceiling just pays the bills by borrowing. The alternative is not; to cut spending, but it is to not pay due bills.
Understand the difference. It is bankruptcy.

The thing is they shouldn't have been raising the ceiling in order to borrow more money all these years. Why have THEY been allowed to create this train wreck, yet tell the rest of us that WE have to sacrifice?

THEY have had free rein over our tax dollars for a long time and they made a god-forsaken mess of it. Maybe bankruptcy is the way to go. Go ahead and let us die in peace. Stop keeping us on life support when the inevitable is going to happen anyway.

But get us the hell out of these wars and stop wasting our money in the middle east. That has been one of the biggest drains on our economy and it's still going on.

tidy catz wrote:

<quoted text>
But get us the hell out of these wars and stop wasting our money in the middle east. That has been one of the biggest drains on our economy and it's still going on.

Did you vote for those who wanted to get us out of Iraq, or for McCain and Palin with their "stay the course" philosophies?

Did you support us getting into Iraq?

Beyond sounding extreme the GOP, according to polls, is definitionally out-of-the-mainstream. The GOP is flirting with electoral disaster when it talks about ending Medicare, Medicaid, the EPA, Department of Education; defending the needy rich; and threatening to throw the credit of the U.S. into bankruptcy by refusing to raise the debt ceiling next month. Mind you, that's about borrowing now to pay off our existing debts. At our founding in 1789, refusing to pay your debts landed people in prison. Now Republicans may adopt that as policy.

So run Sarah run, run Michelle run, run Newt run and keep scaring seniors and the middle class Paul.

This ploy is more repignorant holding We the people hostage. Not raising the debt ceiling devalues our dollar on international markets. the consequences are far reaching and will create a disaster. Listen to Paul Krugman.

tidy catz wrote:

<quoted text>
The thing is they shouldn't have been raising the ceiling in order to borrow more money all these years. Why have THEY been allowed to create this train wreck, yet tell the rest of us that WE have to sacrifice?
THEY have had free rein over our tax dollars for a long time and they made a god-forsaken mess of it. Maybe bankruptcy is the way to go. Go ahead and let us die in peace. Stop keeping us on life support when the inevitable is going to happen anyway.
But get us the hell out of these wars and stop wasting our money in the middle east. That has been one of the biggest drains on our economy and it's still going on.

You are enumerating the result of reaganomics...tax cuts, government stimulation based on borrowing.

They are doing fine. They are billionaires. It is we who are sucking wind.

tidy catz wrote:

The debt ceiling has been raised 10 times in the last decade. That's how we got into this mess in the first place. Borrow some more money. Borrow some more money.
So, what the heck. Let's borrow some more money again.

Check your info, or did you mean too mislead in favor of
Obama again? Just asking.

It's the starve the beast strategy of the GOP, they overspend, then blame it on the Democratic President. Where did the surplus left by Clinton go? Two unnecessary unfunded wars and bush's big spending habit. Then when a Democrat is in the oval office, they cry poverty. Never trust a repuglican, or vote for one!!!

liz wrote:

<quoted text>
Check your info, or did you mean too mislead in favor of
Obama again? Just asking.

How many times has the ceiling been raised? Since March 1962, the debt ceiling has been raised 74 times, according to the Congressional Research Service. Ten of those times have occurred since 2001. CNNMoney.com via Yahoo! Finance -

imaginaryfriend wrote:

It's the starve the beast strategy of the GOP, they overspend, then blame it on the Democratic President. Where did the surplus left by Clinton go? Two unnecessary unfunded wars and bush's big spending habit. Then when a Democrat is in the oval office, they cry poverty. Never trust a repuglican, or vote for one!!!

Except for the Iraq War, it is not so much overspending, as undertaxing. If the Reagan - Bush II tax cuts for the wealthy were restored, the deficit would shrink by 60 - 70%.

If they were applied retroactively (which I do not advocate on principle) the National Debt would nearly evaporate.