Reading Between the Lines of the Debt Ceiling Deal

I was so disgusted by the deal (concessions made) that was reached to raise the debt ceiling. I was so disgusted that I was contemplating not ever taking part in the electoral process of this country ever again. I voted for Barack Obama because he was "Change, I Could Believe In!" Now that we are two plus years into his term, I found myself with that feeling of making a poor hiring decision. Then it hit me, Washington was severely broken under the Bush Administration. The ideological Senator Obama did state that Washington is fractured and would take time to fix; he wanted to reform healthcare, develop new energy policies, and end two wars. So we get a Universal Healthcare Plan (Obamacare) that should have been a Medicare For All plan; a record setting bail-out of the financial and automobile industries; a new fuel efficiency standard that should decrease our carbon footprint (until lobbyist get the next regime to overturn it); and significant troop reduction in Iraq and Afghanistan. Oh yeah, and he gave the “go ahead” on bin Laden.

Iraq and Afghanistan bring me to my point though. President Obama and many other politicians and pundits have noted that the monies spent in Iraq and Afghanistan, if rerouted back home, would go a long way in rebuilding the infrastructure of America. Well, the debt ceiling deal has a second phase. This time there is a "trigger" associated with it. The initial debt ceiling deal cut about $900 billion in spending; with a little over a third of that being defense and security; with a second phase compromise calling for an additional $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction cuts and the raising of the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion. Balanced budget here we come.

What is that trigger? The trigger calls for an additional $500 billion in cuts from defense if a deal cannot be reached on other deficit reduction agreements. To put this into perspective- the only thing conservatives hate more than taxes, is not being able to have the biggest, most expensive weapons of destruction at their disposal. In addition, where does the defense budget come from? TAXES. If you want to keep your toys, raise taxes. That is where the cuts are slated to take place. I am so glad that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid were not linked to triggers. The linking of the defense budget does not put our economy in a position to be held for ransom. Does this mean that the defense budget is being held for ransom? Indeed it does. Does it make me feel less safe? Not in the least. Not as insecure as knowing that America is one Congressional compromise (or non-compromise) from recession becoming depression.

I wish that Republicans and Reagan worshippers (that would be you Tea Party) could remember that Reagan raised taxes in '82, '83 and 84 because it was the responsible thing to do. It wasn't about party affiliation. It was about protecting the strength of the dollar. The dollar is the Word of America...and without your word, you have nothing.

Here’s to hoping that “Change, I Can Believe In!” doesn’t require much more patience. Now that the debt ceiling has been raised we can get back to waiting for 2016: when unemployment hits the safe zone of 5%.

Debt Ceiling/ Deficit Reduction...Senator Recall

Why is America constantly faced with a self-inflicted crisis? Why in the middle of economic peril are the "haves" somehow having even more and the "have-nots" somehow have even less? With the debt ceiling/ deficit reduction talks going on now, it may get even worse. What will be cut will be taken from those that don't have anything left to give. The temporary fixes, if you can call them that, coming from Mitch McConnell and Eric Cantor are a slap in the face to the citizens of this country. More on what to do about them later...

With deficit reduction and the debt ceiling increase taking center stage on America's political landscape, Iceland and Greece immediately come to mind. Because Iceland went bankrupt and defaulted on $85 Billion in debt and Greece Gets World’s Lowest Credit Rating by Fitch on July 13, 201, cutting their rating three levels from B+ to CCC. Iceland definitely has a way to go to recover, but the Credit Raters Who Didn’t Predict Iceland Crisis Miss Rebound. Because Iceland defaulted, recovery is taht much harder, and expensive. How do you feel about the debt ceiling and deficit reduction talks? Is your Senator's vote inline with you or playing party politics with your future?

Does your Senator not vote the way you would like? Few states allow for a recall of a senator-only 18 and the District of Columbia. If you're not living in one of these states you have no constitutional rights to recall. The 18 states allowing for recall are as follows: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. Learn how to recall your Senator here.

I know most of the MAJOR players in the budget/ debt ceiling debate are not Senators within these states. However, generating majority support can be achieved with the constitutional right to recall within these states. Force the Senators of your state to push the Senators that are major roadblocks to the deficit reduction/ debt ceiling increase negotiations to realize that they could possibly lose a majority or become even more of a minority. Eighteen states may only be thirty-six percent of the union, but thirty-six percent can swing the balance of power within the Senate in one fell swoop.

To Raise or Not to Raise...The Debt Ceiling and "Reaganomics"

Yesterday (May 16, 2011) U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner gave a rough deadline of August 2nd for the nation's debt ceiling to be raised by about $2,000,000,000,000.00. That is about 14% of the current debt limit. It would take an additional two trillion dollars to keep America from defaulting on debts....WOW!!!

I find it amazing how the political arguments have shifted from one party to another on the major issues that our country is faced with...Universal Healthcare was supported by both sides at different times for the purpose of winning the popularity battle with voters. It was also fought against by both sides; with both drastically overstating and understating the ramifications, respectively.

Now we have the debt ceiling, which our current president voted against when proposed by his predecessor. Of course, the consequences [no risk of default] weren't as great then...but are as significantly great as in 1983 when President Reagan (pictured above) requested that the ceiling be raised. In a letter to then Senate Majority Leader Howard, President Reagan warned that without a higher debt ceiling the country would be forced to default for the first time in its history:

Reagan wrote: “The full consequences of a default – or even the serious prospect of default – by the United States are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate. Denigration of the full faith and credit of the United States would have substantial effects on the domestic financial markets and the value of the dollar.”

Those that oppose raising the debt ceiling make accusations that "defaulting" is only a scare tactic used by President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner. Freshman Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) says that "breaching the limit would cause only a partial government shutdown." Too bad it isn't the part that pays his salary.

All of the citizens of this country that oppose raising the debt ceiling please take a look at Iceland. Do you want to go to the bank one day only to be told that everything that you worked hard for is gone? FDIC insured you say? If we are willing to allow our decision-makers (and I use the term loosely) to play a game of chicken with the national debt, then the money that’s in the bank is as good as worthless. The tick for tack politics of wanting to rewrite Universal Healthcare (some know it as Obamacare) for approval on raising the debt ceiling is unacceptable. The time for political posturing is not now. There is a looming crisis with a solution staring it right in the face. Call your political representative, whether they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or a Tea Party affiliate, and demand that they do what is necessary to keep the bills paid. Hold their re-election ransom. Far too many people have already lost everything; not enough people have recovered- let’s not let it get worse.