I wanted to say that I can’t believe Dems are saying this stuff with a straight face… But actually, I can.
“I will not let anyone use the full faith and credit of the United States as a bargaining chip. In the United States of America, we pay our debts," Biden said.
McCarthy isn’t even actually pushing for spending CUTS. Jut reductions in spending growth.
If we’re looking to expand our debt ceiling, in the end it means we’re NOT paying our debts. We’re adding to them.
One side is just looking to overspend more than the other. That’s what the disagreement is about.
I don’t see how that boggles anyone’s mind. (Except maybe Brandon’s.)
The time to sort out spending is during budget negotiations, not when the bill is due. It’s like saying you won’t pay your credit card bill. Sorry you already bought the stuff so don’t screw up your credit rating by not paying the bill.
While Biden phrased it very poorly, I agree with him in the premise.
I absolutely oppose the debt limit being used as a bargaining chip. That represents debt the United States has already incurred and is moral obliged to make good on.
I would like to see the debt limit permanently abrogated so it can no longer be used in this way.
FIGHT THIS BATTLE WHERE, AND ONLY WHERE, IT BELONGS.
During consideration of the budget resolution and during consideration of appropriations bills.
And I am of the considered opinion that, if it comes down to a pending default, President’s can invoke the 14th Amendment and unilaterally raise the debt limit to protect the sanctity of the full faith and credit of the United States.
I absolutely agree with you here. A version of this was the Gephardt Rule. When Congress passed a Concurrent Resolution on the budget, the Gephardt Rule provided that a matching debt limit increase was deemed passed in the House and sent to the Senate.
I would bring back the Gephardt Rule for BOTH Houses. When a Concurrent Resolution on the budget is passed, a matching debt limit increase would be deemed passed by the House and Senate and sent to the President.
The Budget Resolution, of course, is the appropriate time to determine how much, if any, additional debt will be incurred for the upcoming budget year.
Raising the debt limit is about accommodating and servicing debt that the government has already accrued or is in the process of accruing.
For example, in passing the Omnibus, Congress accepted the debt necessary to pay for that Omnibus. All that debt does not appear instantly. FY 2023 started on October 1st, 2022 and does not end until September 30th, 2023. Funds appropriated by the Omnibus will be paid out over the fiscal year until September 30th. Thus, all the new debt accrued by the Omnibus will not formally be accrued until the end of the fiscal year. That is why we won’t face a default until June. It will take until June for the spending that Congress has authorized and appropriated for FY 2023 to force a breach.
All the debt limit represents is allowing the Treasury to service the debt Congress has ALREADY authorized by law.
The upcoming budget process is when Congress decides how much NEW DEBT it will run up in FY 2024. That is where Republicans need to make their stand.
Playing with the debt limit is reckless and has the potential to engage this country in an economic catastrophic, such as has never been seen. If we actually default, the results would be horrific.
And the worst of the worst would be borne by the bottom rungs in society and the working class. It will not discriminate by party and both Republican and Democratic voters would be swept up, likely in equal measure.
Even a short term default would cause ongoing economic strife. It would take the United States 20 years at minimum to fully recover from a default and regain our former credit standing.
These green pieces of paper called Federal Reserve Notes. Regardless of denomination, they represent monetized debt and are fully backed by debt. In a default, they would be backed by NOTHING and no more money are credit could be issued.
Playing around with the debt limit is reckless and stupid.
The Republican House should immediately pass a clean debt limit increase. And they should has out future debt in budget negotiations.
This debt limit brinksmanship needs to stop, as it represents literally an existential threat to this country.
As I see it, there are no major cuts they can make. They can cut some small programs, but that doesn’t put much of a dent in the debt. What is interesting is that no one is talking about the huge tax cut bill that Trump did which is going to start to expire next year. And the outcome will be that those folks who got a tax cut will be spending a lot more in taxes.
