Budget Fight (FY23 and Beyond...)

[GoCommiesGo]

@Fergasun

My entire basis is that they shouldn’t negotiate. This is being done because the last time it was done they were rewarded with a negotiation. From a practical standpoint the cuts and changes to appropriations should happen during the budget process, you shouldn’t be able to demand reductions of future spending by threatening to default on current spending. 
 

This juncture is the best time to put the foot down and attempt to force the GOP to act like governing officials. Don’t blow up the country by preventing debt service, act like adults work and negotiate the future budget with the spending cuts. 

[TheGreatBuzz]

7 hours ago, GoCommiesGo said:

I’ll preface this with I’m a federal employee. I do not want them to negotiate with the GOP, I want Biden or one of his surrogates to go  on major news networks and explain that the GOP is refusing to pay the budget that was already passed. 
 

They are refusing to pay the debt of the country they already agreed to and are using this one mechanism to hold the entire country hostage. I want the Dems to blast it constantly on every major network they can. I then want Biden to invoke the 14th amendment and give a speech on why he’s doing it, and how the government shall pay its debts. 
 

If they negotiate at all, this is going to repeat itself indefinitely. At some point you have to make a hard choice and not negotiate with the hostage takers. 

 

5 hours ago, GoCommiesGo said:

@Larry Completely agree with that. They need to put it out there in straightforward terms, keep it short and simple. 
 

If the GOP has a budget goal, that should be dealt with in the budgeting process, not by holding the nation hostage to pay for the already approved budget. 

 

Biden or someone else very senior needs to publicly call the GOP out as "economic terrorists."  Those specific words.

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[China]

Schumer seeks to drive wedge in GOP: McCarthy was ‘lone holdout’ on default

 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was the “lone holdout” on taking a potential federal default off the table at a meeting with President Biden and congressional leaders at the White House. 

 

Schumer made the claim on the Senate floor in an attempt to drive a wedge between McCarthy and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who pledged after Tuesday’s meeting that the United States will not default.  

 

“Speaker McCarthy refused, absolutely refused, to take default off the table,” Schumer said. “He was the only holdout during yesterday’s meeting.  

 

“President Biden said that no matter what, default should be taken off the table,” Schumer added, noting that he and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) also pledged not to allow a default.  

 

“Even Leader McConnell said, unequivocally, no matter what, the U.S. will not default. But McCarthy, Speaker McCarthy alone, refused to take the threat of a catastrophic default off the table,” Schumer said. “I asked him pointedly, I asked him pointedly if he would join us, but during yesterday’s meeting he was the sole holdout.”  

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

US debt ceiling impasse pushes government credit default swaps to record high

 

The cost of insuring exposure to U.S. government debt rose to fresh highs on Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and top lawmakers remained deadlocked in talks over raising the $31.4 trillion federal borrowing limit.

 

Spreads on U.S. one-year credit default swaps (CDS) - market-based gauges of the risk of a default - widened to 172 basis points, an all-time high, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data, up from a close of 163 on Tuesday.

 

The cost of insuring U.S. debt against default for five years stood at 73 basis points, up from 72 basis points on Tuesday, touching the highest level since 2009.

 

A protracted legislative fight around the U.S. debt ceiling could lure panicky buyers of insurance against a government default in coming weeks, as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the government may be unable to meet all payment obligations as soon as June 1.

 

Due to the mechanics of a potential CDS payout, the probability of a default implied by the CDS could be lower than what current levels suggest, analysts said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[The Evil Genius]

 

[Captain Wiggles]

Not bad for a sposidly senile old geezer. 😁

[EmirOfShmo]

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[China]

Spanberger doesn’t want Congress to get paid until it solves debt crisis

 

Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) is calling for members of Congress to go without pay until they resolve the debt limit crisis as uneasiness rises across Washington around the threat of a federal default.

 

“If the American people and the American economy are suffering as a result of congressional inaction, then Members of Congress should not be rewarded with their pay,” she wrote in a letter Friday to the House chief administrative officer, Catherine Szpindor.

 

Spanberger acknowledged in the letter that Szpindor is “constrained by” the rules of Congress, the Constitution and “other applicable laws and rules,” but she requested that the official “prepare to withhold Members of Congress’ pay until Congress passes, and the President signs, legislation to raise the debt ceiling and pay our country’s bills.”

 

The Hill reached out to Szpindor’s office for comment. 

 

“America’s working families understand the basic principles of fairness — if you don’t do your job, you don’t get paid,” Spanberger said in the letter.

 

In her letter Friday, Spanberger said “hyper-partisanship in Congress is jeopardizing the economic strength and security of our country, the stability of global markets, and the world’s faith in the credit of the United States of America.”

 

“And rather than fulfill our most basic obligations, U.S. House Republican leadership has instead championed a bad-faith proposal that has no chance of moving forward in the U.S. Senate,” she wrote. “Market volatility has already impacted Americans’ retirement accounts — and this institution must not wait until the last possible moment to deliver on one of its most fundamental responsibilities.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Social Security advocates brace for U.S. debt default with payments to beneficiaries at stake

 

With the odds of a U.S. debt default increasing, Social Security advocates warn beneficiaries they should be prepared in case their payments are interrupted.

 

Negotiations around whether the nation's ability to borrow money should be expanded have been ongoing, but Congress and the White House have yet to reach an agreement on the path forward.

 

The impasse has placed the U.S. in a precarious financial position, and leaves some of the most vulnerable Americans at risk.

 

Dan Ad****, director of government relations and policy for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said there is a "good chance" that in the event of a default, millions of Americans' benefits would be disrupted.

 

"Seniors should be prepared if they're financially able," Ad**** said, adding they should consider putting off discretionary purchases "so they have enough to tide them over."

 

But millions of beneficiaries have no financial room to maneuver, Ad**** said, noting that about 40% of Social Security recipients, which include Americans who are disabled and those who are widowed, receive 90% of their income from the safety net program. That equates to nearly 27 million people.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Fergasun]

The odds of US default are not increasing.  At the very least...the Senate will jam a clean increase down the House.  Especially if Biden is about go 14th Amendment. 

[Larry]

Granted, maybe this says something about my ignorance.  But for example, I'm pretty sure that Social Security has almost enough money coming in, right now, to pay current benefits.  So the "Social Security checks won't come" seems - scare mongering?    

[China]

On 5/13/2023 at 3:17 PM, Larry said:

Granted, maybe this says something about my ignorance.  But for example, I'm pretty sure that Social Security has almost enough money coming in, right now, to pay current benefits.  So the "Social Security checks won't come" seems - scare mongering?    

 

Well if the government shuts down, there won't be any administrative personnel to process the checks.

 

But, I'm all for the fear-mongering if it means people jump on the stupid politicians playing games and get them to avoid default.

[@DCGoldPants]

On 5/13/2023 at 1:32 PM, China said:

"Seniors should be prepared if they're financially able," Ad**** said, adding they should consider putting off discretionary purchases "so they have enough to tide them over."

Hey Seniors. This won't be hard to understand except for folks in the Villages and their golf carts. Before the GOP was in charge of the House, your social security was not at risk. Now it is. That's what changed. When you're blaming folks, get it right and vote that way. 

Edited May 14, 2023 by @DCGoldPants

[Renegade7]

On 5/11/2023 at 4:49 PM, The Evil Genius said:

 

 

Folks that want this man out of office simply because he's too old need to sit TF down, he'd run circles around them, too...

[TheGreatBuzz]

I think Biden should use the 14th to declare the budget ceiling unconstitutional.  Then, arrest the MAGA rep ****nuts for economic terrorism.  That'll make the rights heads to explode and we just need to mop up the mess.

[tshile]

10 minutes ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

I think Biden should use the 14th to declare the budget ceiling unconstitutional.  Then, arrest the MAGA rep ****nuts for economic terrorism.  That'll make the rights heads to explode and we just need to mop up the mess.

I was listening to someone propose this the other day but the issue is it’ll be challenged in court. Depending on how exactly that goes, it may not provide any short term relief on the issue. 

[bearrock]

The 14th amendment path is extremely dicey because we can't be sure how the market reacts to bonds issued under the structure where there is no affirmative Congressional mandate for new debt.  If exec branch issues the debts but if the market wants a discount or refuses to buy due to uncertainty regarding the 14th amendment path, now there is a much bigger problem with legislation as pretty much the only solution.  I assume Feds will buy them up initially, but not sure how long that can last without a working private market for the bonds.

 

I think Senate needs to send a clean raise and see how the moderate GOP house members holds up on a clean raise.

[China]

On 4/25/2023 at 10:06 PM, China said:

 

God I hope not.  I'm counting on the big players from the financial sector and elsewhere to start putting pressure on McCarthy to get his act together and let him know how bad it will be if he doesn't get something done in time.  Otherwise it will be a ****show.

 

First on CNN: CEOs warn of ‘devastating scenario’ if America defaults

 

America’s CEOs plan to send a dire warning to lawmakers Tuesday that the economy faces potential devastation if Congress and the Biden White House cannot reach an agreement to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a default.

 

In an open letter to President Biden and top Congressional leaders Tuesday, nearly 150 business leaders urged the two sides to act – or face “a devastating scenario … and potentially disastrous consequences,” the letter states. The open letter was first shared with CNN before it was published.

 

CEOs of major corporations and financial institutions signed the letter. Among the signees are James P. Gorman, Chairman & CEO of Morgan Stanley, David M. Solomon, Chairman & CEO of Goldman Sachs, Adena Friedman, Chair & CEO of the Nasdaq, and Robin Hayes, CEO of JetBlue. It is one of the strongest collective warnings from America’s business sector.

 

The United States could default on its debt as soon as June 1 if lawmakers fail to raise the amount of money the US can borrow to pay its debts, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said. President Biden and top Congressional leaders are expected to meet Tuesday to negotiate a deal and prevent a default.

 

“Failure to resolve the current impasse could easily have more negative consequences. Although the American economy is generally strong, high inflation has created stresses in our financial system, including several recent bank failures. Much worse will occur if the nation defaults on our debt obligations, which would weaken our position in the world financial system,” the letter states.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

[Larry]

The Republicans know it would be devastating to "default".  

 

They're counting on it.  

 

They simply believe that destroying the US (and maybe the world's) economy, will help the team they actually serve.  

 

If the CEOs want to get Congress' attention, what they need to be saying is who's fault it's going to be.  

 

Edited May 18, 2023 by Larry

[tshile]

CEO’s support republicans because they give them tax cuts and protections and let them rig the economy. 
 

they aren’t going to stand up and blame them for anything. 

[Captain Wiggles]

Was the letter polite but firm? 

 

 

[China]

4 hours ago, Larry said:

 

 

If the CEOs want to get Congress' attention, what they need to be saying is who's fault it's going to be.  

 

 

If they want to get their attention, they should withdraw all financial support until and unless the fix the debt ceiling issue.  Money talks.

[Larry]

BTW, have the Republicans passed their ransom demands yet?  Or is it still a rumor?