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The Government Shutdown Looms: A Q&A On What Happens Next (And Who Stays At Home)
With a government's October 1 shut down - temporary of course - now seemingly inevitable, and more importantly with the peak debt ceiling negotiations due in just about a week after which point the Treasury will run out of money, many wonder what comes next. That this is happening just two short years after the dramatic August 2011 debt ceiling impasse, when the market tumbled 20% and likely slowed economic growth is still fresh in everyone's mind, is hardly helping matters. Add a potential political crisis in Greece and Italy, and suddenly a whole lot of unexpected variables have to be "priced in."
Courtesy of AP, here are questions and answers about how the two standoffs, now intertwined, could affect the economy and financial markets:
Q. What exactly will happen within the next days and weeks?
A. The most urgent deadline is for Congress and the White House to agree to keep funding the government after the current budget year ends Monday. Otherwise, some of the government would have to shut down. The House and Senate are considering bills to fund the government past the deadline. But House Republicans want to cut off funding for President Barack Obama's health care law as a condition of passing the spending measure. Senate Democrats and the White House have balked. Unless one side essentially blinks, a partial shutdown of the government will occur.
Q. What would be the effect on the economy if the two sides miss the deadline for passing the spending measure?
A. About one-third of the government will shut down. About 800,000 of about 2.1 million federal employees will be sent home without pay. National parks will close.
NASA will continue to keep workers at Mission Control in Houston and elsewhere to support the International Space station, where two Americans and four other people live. Aside from that only about 3 percent of NASA's 18,000 workers will keep working.
The military and other agencies involving safety and security would continue to function. These include air traffic controllers, border patrol and law enforcement officers. Social Security, Medicare and veterans' benefits payments would continue, but there could be delays in processing new disability applications.
A partial shutdown that lasts no more than a few days wouldn't likely nick the economy much. But if the shutdown were to persist for two weeks or more, the economy would likely begin to slow, economists say.
Extended closures of national parks would hurt hotels, restaurants and other tourism-related businesses. Delays in processing visas for overseas visitors could interrupt trade. And the one-third of the federal workforce that lost pay would cut back on spending, thereby slowing growth.
A three-week shutdown would slow the economy's annual growth rate in the October-December quarter by up to 0.9 percentage point, Goldman Sachs estimates. If so, the growth rate next quarter would be a scant 1.6 percent, compared with the 2.5 percent that many economists now forecast.
The contingency plans for various government agencies are available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/contingency-plans .
Q. What about the federal borrowing cap? First of all, what is it?
A. It's a legal limit on how much debt the government can pile up. The government accumulates debt two ways: It borrows money from investors by issuing Treasurys. And it borrows from itself, mostly from Social Security revenue.
Q. What if Congress can't agree to raise the cap in time?
A. It could be disastrous. No longer authorized to borrow, the government would have to pay its bills only out of the revenue it gets from taxes and fees. This would force the government to immediately slash spending by 32 percent, the Bipartisan Policy Center estimates. Most analysts think the government would delay paying each day's bills until it had accumulated enough money to pay them all.
Even worse, the government could miss interest payments on Treasurys, triggering a first-ever default by the U.S. government. U.S. Treasurys are held by banks, governments and individuals worldwide. Ultimately, a prolonged default could lead to a global financial crisis.
At the same time, Social Security and other benefit payments would be delayed. Government contractors might not be paid and would likely lay off workers. Paychecks for military personnel could be delayed.
The government actually reached its borrowing limit back in May. Since then, the Treasury has taken a variety of measures to avoid exceeding it. But the cash generated by those measures will run out sometime between Oct. 22 and Oct. 31, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates.
The date isn't exact because it isn't possible to foresee precisely how much revenue the government will receive and when.
Q. Will the economy escape harm if both deadlines are met?
A. Probably. But even brinksmanship can have consequences. The last major fight over the borrowing cap, in the summer of 2011, wasn't resolved until hours before the deadline. Even though the deadline was met, Standard & Poor's issued the first-ever downgrade of long-term U.S. credit. That, in turn, led to a 635-point plunge in the Dow Jones industrial average the next day.
In August that year, consumer confidence plummeted to its lowest level since April 2009, when the economy was in recession. Spending at retail stores weakened.
"The fallout nearly caused the fragile economic recovery to stall," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.
The International Monetary Fund estimated last month that U.S. budget disputes, like the 2011 showdown, can slow annual growth by up to 0.5 percentage point in other parts of the world.
The Government Accountability Office later estimated that just the threat of default escalated the government's borrowing costs that year by $1.3 billion, or about 0.5 percent.
The drawn-out fights can cause Americans to delay major purchases, such as for cars or appliances, says Ethan Harris, global economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. And they can erode confidence in the United States as a place to do business. Employers become less willing to expand and hire.
On Friday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and several other business groups urged Congress to fund the government and raise the borrowing limit.
"It is not in the best interest of the employers, employees or the American people to risk a government shutdown that will be economically disruptive and create even more uncertainties for the U.S. economy," the groups said.
Q. All this sounds pretty scary. Why aren't financial markets panicking?
A. Stock prices have fallen in six of the past seven days, partly because of the looming deadlines. But the price declines have been modest. Many investors likely feel they have seen this movie before and know how it ends: with another last-minute deal.
"After several rounds of fiscal brinksmanship ... markets may be somewhat desensitized to the headlines," Alec Phillips, an economist at Goldman Sachs, wrote in a note to clients.
* * *
And for those government workers curious if they will or won't be working on Tuesday in case of a shutdown, the following primer from the NYT answers that question:
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You are either delusional or still drunk from last night. Those programs are broke and it won't be long before they are gone. "That is of course if intellectual consistency is important." I have paid into both for over 20 years and have no expectations to receive any of it. In fact, I would let them keep my donations thus far if they let me opt out. I can plan for my 'retirement years' much better than those 'dogs', who if they are lucky, will get the guillotine rather than the lamp post when all is said and done.
+1000 for this:
"In fact, I would let them keep my donations thus far if they let me opt out."
Amen brother. I too would give up everything I've paid in if they would just leave me alone for the rest of my life.
"... You're an idiot. Without SS and Medicare, you would live like a dog in your retirement years."
Speak for yourself!
I don't need the Government to take care of me.
And that sir, is the problem. People who think like you. Hell no, I won't see a dime of my FICA even though in theory, I might be elgible, (I am almost 59) to collect. What in hell are you thinking? The government will means test and on some electronic ledger sheet do a bail in of any "redundant funds". In fact I won't even waste my breath applying. I'll just keep working til I drop. The best advice I give people is: Work as long as you can, but not too hard, for anything left over will be taxed, or if invested, will be confisctaed either by Wall Street or the government. Stay healthy, eat right, stay out of debt, and don't bother contributing to a retirement account. Saving for retirement now days (it wasn't 20 years ago) is self serving advice for the government, Wall Street, and accountants.
Clearly, they've learned from wrestling, the fight is staged. On the other hand, big arguments are like war: they come with unintended consequences. We won't see much at the beginning, then it starts and it goes exponential. A week, nothing much. 2 weeks, it starts to be painful, 3 weeks, gotta do something, 4 weeks, people stop talking and start screaming. My bet is for less than 3 weeks. My hope is for more than 4 as it then becomes "interesting"!
Q. What if Congress can't agree to raise the cap in time?
A. It could be disastrous. No longer authorized to borrow, the government would have to pay its bills only out of the revenue it gets from taxes and fees. This would force the government to immediately slash spending by 32 percent, the Bipartisan Policy Center estimates.
Which would be fucking awesome and what needs to happen.
That part of the article made me smile.
"It could be disastrous. No longer authorized to borrow, the government would have to pay its bills only out of the revenue it gets from taxes and fees."
Pure insanity!
This is not how Keynesian economies work at all...charge it!!!...fudge the books some moar, make the bad thingy go away...dammit do something!!!...ROTFL!!!
Taxes are an unlawful aggression aganst the property rights of the individual.
nm, ur comment made me muse: what if this is all staged to justify higher fed "taxes and fees"?
This is as interesting as watching reruns of dancing with the stars. It wasn't interesting the first time and it sure as hell isn't interesting this time. We already know the ending and unfortunately we're the ones who get it in the end.
Let's do the experiment and see what happens....
Exactly. Anything to be added back needs to be carefully considered and figured out how it will be paid for. How is this a disaster again? This is called progress.
Even though the deadline was met, Standard & Poor's issued the first-ever downgrade of long-term U.S. credit.
What a bunch of malarkey. S&P downgraded the US because IT IS BANKRUPT not because of some bs with the debt ceiling hike.
"... for two weeks or more, the economy would likely begin to slow, economists say."
Economists? Economists?! Are these the same economists that said there was no housing bubble?
I hate to respond to myself but this just pisses me off! The idea that a working economy depends on government is such an abhorent notion that I, as my mother would say, could just spit! (She came from a different time, but believe me, there is bile in those words)
If we could keep government closed you would see the economy accelerate like never before! There are so many things that don't get built because the government overhead prevents it. I've seen it first hand in the companies I've worked for, I'm sitting on 3 ideas myself. They don't want anyone to succeed except cronies that get assistance at our expense. Make everyone dependent on government.
Damn liars.
Inept organizations deserve to be shutdown...
I wouldn't link to the AP if I were you. Over the years I've found them to be by far the most heavily biased "news" source in service to the politically correct thought machine.
"thought machine"
Nice!
A three-week shutdown would slow the economy's annual growth rate in the October-December quarter by up to 0.9 percentage point, Goldman Sachs estimates.—AP
Ah. Goldman.
In a review of Hunter Lewis’s latest book, Crony Capitalism in America, 2008-2012, David Gordon, who covers new books in economics, politics, philosophy, and law for The Mises Review, writes:
“An especially glaring example of a predatory partnership between government and business followed the financial collapse of 2008. It was widely alleged that massive government subsidies to prop up failing banks and investment houses were required lest the entire economy be destroyed.[1] ‘So in the fall of 2008, the US supposedly stood on the edge of an abyss, with a likely shutdown of the entire financial system, and a Depression from which we might never emerge.’ (pp. 110-11)
“The allegation of imminent collapse served as an excuse for massive transfers of money to a favored few investment bankers. Lewis devotes particular attention to Goldman Sachs. ‘At the center of Wall Street stands Goldman Sachs, master of the crony influence game.’ (p. 86) Lewis devotes six pages of his book to a chart of what he terms the ‘revolving door’ between Goldman Sachs and the government. (pp. 86-91) The result of these close connections, together with the large amount of money spent by Goldman Sachs in lobbying, will occasion no surprise: ‘Government connections conferred many other benefits … in some areas of the market post-Crash, Goldman Sachs enjoyed what former employee Anthony Scaramucci called a near monopoly.’” (p. 102)
As Ben Stein wrote December 2, 2007 in The New York Times: “From what I have observed over the years, Goldman has a fascinating culture. It is sort of like what I imagine the culture of the K.G.B. to be.”
Goldman, the KGB outfit that runs the U.S. Fed (via the NY Fed), the European Central Bank and the Bank of England – and a million other things a self-administered world reserve currency out of “thin air” can buy.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/2013/09/david-gordon/the-american-economic-fraud/
Crony Capitalism = Oligarchical Collectivism
Where have I heard that term before?
Oligarchical Collectivism defines it best, and its old goal -- world control.
The goal in short: monetary control “more powerful than mega-tons of atomic energy” to make all leaders and nations subservient to the international financial combines.
"[T]he Hegemony of World Finance should reign supreme over everyone, everywhere, as one whole supernational control mechanism." - Montagu Norman, governor of the Bank of England from 1920-1944.
This worldwide goal by the now-known super-rich power group of bankers is aided and abetted by Socialism and Communism to convert all governments to world socialism which they only will control. Using debt and violence and revolution , they’ve manipulated themselves into control of world governance by creating a world financial crisis as a last bold step to force governments to surrender their sovereignty in a worldwide, debt-riddled financial and moral emergency.
Obama and the majority in Congress have been bought and paid for by these international “thin-airs,” i.e., banksters.
Dr. Carroll Quigley, professor of history at the Foreign Service School of Georgetown University, was one in-the-know who admired and identified this power group as the “international bankers.”
This quote today from dizzyfingers is worth repeating:
“If one understands that socialism is not a share-the-wealth program, but is in reality a method to consolidate and control the wealth, then the seeming paradox of super-rich men promoting socialism becomes no paradox at all. Instead, it becomes logical, even the perfect tool of power-seeking megalomaniacs. Communism or more accurately, socialism, is not a movement of the downtrodden masses, but of the economic elite.” -–the late Gary Allen
"Oligarchical Collectivism"? An image of word-smith consultants on trampolines comes to mind. To the awe and child-like wonder of the adoring fans. I prefer "Chicks on Trampolines".
Look, there's a far simpler word that works, and that's been around for fucking centuries: FEUDALISM.
The voiceless in this catastrophe are the victims, the long suffering citizens whose lives have been bulldozed and exploited by this banker-politician partnership.
And, now, the final wipeout via Obamacare - slave wages that lower all boats of the 99 percent, 70 percent of all jobs created in the past 5 years part-time, 5 part-time jobs (without benefits) and total longer hours needed in every middle-to-lower-class family to support basic life, death panels denying medicine and surgery to the very young and very old whose work output is limited, open borders to an ever widening flood of lower-wage job takers, socialist wealth redistribution that forces America’s work force to pay for benefits (Obamacare) for the multinational corps’ low-wage, foreign-born laborers, a government that represents only the economic elite…
“Feudalism is becoming built into the American psyche at younger and younger ages,” already indenturing students, warns Andy Sutton, and those who think it’s because of incompetency on the behalf of Bernanke, “still don’t get it.”
Writes Sutton, “I contend he knows exactly what he’s doing as do the rest that actually set global financial and economic policy.”
goldman rules ze vurld!!
We all know what will happen. They'll put on their performance and entertain us all until Goldman hits the down button on the algobot. That will be the signal for the media to signal panic. The sheep will look up from their lazy grazing and the 'heroes' of the democracy will somehow find a way to reach a deal
2.1 million employees? Are you shitting me? Fire them all and see how well they adapt to the private sector...
But, but...they'll scoop up all those jobs Obama's created!
yea 3 part time jobs to get their hours
"It could be disastrous."
That's a fucking lie!
"No longer authorized to borrow, the government would have to pay its bills only out of the revenue it gets from taxes and fees."
In other words the Government would have to stop counterfeiting dollars!
What a fucking unbelievable concept: honesty
Who is going to build the roads?????
IDK. Without the FHA and the GSEs, who is going to build the houses?
They've done a good job of not building them now!
We can't sell the houses we have now, don't.
2.1 million federal employees X $80,000 = $168 billion a year. Cut them all down to part-time, cut their benefits *(under Obamacare, of course) and save at least $84 billion a year. It's a start, but we have to start somewhere.
I would think there's more federal government employees than that, actually. The Postal Service alone employs over 800,000. Then we can start with state, county, city, village and town employees, most of whom are worthless eaters, anyhow.
I hope the government shuts down and we don't pass the debt limit funding either. This shit was sickening in 2008-09 and it's only gotten worse since then. Hit the goddamn reset button, already!
ah, but the goal of sheik alabama is to have everyone on the 'federal' payroll
While the Bama/Obama similarity is undeniable, deliberately applying that moniker to the limp wristed one is a bit below the belt for those of us who take pride in our great state.
Roll Tide!
Hey, Free?
We should be so lucky (viz., just $80,000 a year for each of these parasites). In fact, the average (as of a couple years ago!) is $135k or $154k (can't remember and no longer care; it makes no difference. If it was a million dollars apiece, the morons voting wouldn't do differently.)
Volunteers can't work if there is a shut-down. Who will watch them? We could probably cut billions from the budget if they would just get rid of volunteers since it probably takes two full time government employees to watch one volunteer do what one paid employee could do on his own. Three bodies instead of one.
Starve that beast!!! Shut it down, let's call the bluff. But I see there is plan "C", for "Cave In" already drawn up, yawn!
Too bad there are no balls in DC, just a bunch of balloon knots.
"Pricing in scamming galore" on both sides of the pond in the Moet and Chandon bubbly brigade show is like saying to the Oligarchs "no more amor amor in Caymanista land".
It gets their goat.
When all governments are hocked in debt and CB plays have hit the asymptote, then there is only ONE source of wealth left : the 31 T$ of Oligarchy wealth in Caymanista land.
No other means to keep the pump levitating WS.
Hey 4 horsemen when do you enter into this scenario?
If Putin and Iran stymie you guys in ME plays, it means you will have to slimfast in Caymanista wasteland waist lines!
Ben and Draghi = Moet and Chandon.
And Lady Lagarde = Veuve Cliquot!
Yikes, thank god I never buy those brands of Chardonnay.
Fuck= Too fucking comical to see the so called greatest minds . Enough already shut down the fucking govt and eleminae the depts . I can name about 50 of them that can go today and no one will miss the dept.
Starve the fuckers in DC
Rhetorical question of course, but why in Hades would Tyler post the Associated Press as a resource for shutdown?
This is comment trolling link bait at the height of absurdity. Not to mention a stack of french merd piled high and deep. Bravo, Tylers, bravo.
**slow clap**
' No longer authorized to borrow, the government would have to pay its bills only out of the revenue it gets from taxes and fees.'
That is not possible, its unfair!
I could not live like that... thank god for credit cards and bank loans
i.m. goin to zion, grand c and death v mid october. my hunch is that i'll be able to find somewhere to pitch a tent.
:)
I vote for a national holiday- a permanant one for the Federal government. The worlds largest parasite quits sucking blood and the world feels the relief!
brinkmanship
False Flag - Coming Soon!
Don't miss out in watching the blockbuster movie previews. /LOL
That's hilarious.
second that. Its as good as the godfather parody, made by serge Leone; aka spaghetti mafia film.
Lord knows there's enough hints/programming. My best guess is a nuclear 911. The Gambling General is caught with fake casino chips. These were provided by a sting team to put him in a squeeze so he would either shut up about, or let the unauthorized removal of warheads from a Texas base? Remember the programming we received during Bush II with the "missing" bombs. No need to mention Hollywood plots all the way back to early Bond films.
Do a search on Navy Vice Adm. Tim Giardina and you will find a summary of the serial breaches of secuity in recent history.
If these idiots do such a thing we're NEVER coming out of military dictatorship and you will remember fondly the days of freedom that you could read such as this on something called Zero Hedge.
No chance to board an airliner without passing through the gate-rape queue.
"It could be disastrous. No longer authorized to borrow, the government would have to pay its bills only out of the revenue it gets from taxes and fees..."
I live in the twilight zone
I love this! I know a government shutdown will never happen and it will be business as usual, but slashing government spending 33% is a fantasy scenario worth dreaming about.
33% doesn't even qualify as a good start.
That AP article you link to starts off with: "Just as the U.S. economy is struggling to expand at a healthy pace, a pair of political standoffs threatens to slow growth and spook investors."
Well that's good, I'm glad to hear we're in the middle of healthy economic growth, the only thing stopping it is this government shutdown! Unbiased reporting from the good old AP. /sarc
I downed ya for "/sarc".
Nothing personal, but the outstanding wit and sarcasm found in ZH comments is one of the highlights of my day, and flagging it as such takes the fun out of it. If it's good enough for ZH, it will be self evident without the tag.
Thanks, I'll bear that in mind.
i'm gonna go way out on a limb and say some stupid fucking hand waving deal gets cut the night before.
Points:
"It will harm the economy"
I say what "economy"?
"The govt will cut spending by 32% and send 800,000+ workers home.
1) It was wasted money anyway and 2) Those 800,000+ workers in govt probably weren't doing anything useful anyway.
"A default on treasury bills will hurt banks and investors"
The banks wont even give two shits, they get 85 billion a month for free from the Federal Reserve AKA "the real government".
"Visa processing will slow and may impact trade"
Good, if Americans can't get it from over-seas then they will have to make it HERE in the USA.
ALL IN ALL a govt shutdown might help re-build a "real economy" and may help kill off the "fake economy".
I want to know why Tyler is buying into this distractionary political theater ?
There is no such thing as too much information...the Tyler's do a damn fine job in presenting MUCH GOOD INFO!! If I had not found ZH, I would not be near as informed otherwise. The majority of comentators are also enlightening, even tho they like to downvote me...comes with the territory eh?
Keep up the good work Tyler's, I for one, appreciate the info and education you all provide.
high fives for fight club...just don't talk about it.
And no shirts, noe shoes, also!
Hey, Grin ... like a lot of others here, I don't spend very much time (none, actually) listening to main stream news sources. None. I don't even have a television, and have not had one for nigh on 30 years now.
Tyler is just helping us to understand what the majority of voters in this country are told and believe so we can drift off to sleep at night without wondering if we're crazy.
Because your hand has been recorded taking cookies out of the jar. Any questions?
Atom, that is rich, what have I been caught taking? I have my opinions, just like you do, that they are just opinions, no cookie jars here to see, move along.
I question everything, and take nothing at face value.
Believe nothing of what you hear, half of what you read, and all of what you actually see...beyond illusionary stuff, may I add.
Yeah, "beyond illusionary stuff", may you think a while about that. (Atomizer was answering to Grinandbearit, me thinks).
Correct. Thank you for helping point out the obvious. This ZH posting system reminds me of the 2007 Market Watch posting venue, by accident you can reply to the wrong person.
I don't eat cookies. Sugar is very bad for you.
Guys let's get real here... the government will NEVER shut down, at least not in this manner. They want total control of everyone. How can they do that if they shutdown? The debt limit will be raised again and again and again, etc... Keep raising the debt until the Fed owns EVERYTHING.
"but there could be delays in processing new disability applications"
Yeah, because we need more 23 year olds with "bad backs" skimming thousands of dollars a year from people who work.
Pondering if the "partial government shutdown" will be as devastating as they said the "sequester" was going to be? "The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire....Burn mother F'er burn"
I would love to see a reset, but the problem in America is there are too many takers. It would mean total and utter chaos...then the clueless would clamor for big bother to save them, and we have an outright dictatorship...King Obunga!!!! Right now we have a soft dictatorship, you ain't seen nuthin' yet boys and girls. I've lived through one civil war, I'd hate to see another, in a word - HELLISH!
Things would get right dicey everywhere on the planet, no safe havens for ANYONE! Prepare accordingly.
The huge increase in government spending from 2007 to 2013 is outrageous.
Shut the spending down!!!
I don't care about any shut down. I just wish someone would shut them up!
Perfect day for a "false flag" event to keep all the serfs minds off the 11th hour Boehner budget cave-in.
15,258.24 x 20% = 3,051.65
Please Lord? Let sweet justice prevail!
1,685.45 x 20% = 337.09
oHHHHHHHH, it could be "scary"! thank you AP for the 1rst grade analysis from the Democrat hack headquarters in DC. There is no journolism in Amerika; only political points of view. You know what really scares the hell out of the Chalky Kool-Aid drinkers? The government shuts down and nobody notices.
http://vegasxau.blogspot.com
I will be on the road today my fight club friends...have a good one! Try not to tear each other apart too much while I am gone! I know, I know, I will not be missed much...par for the course, heh! I will leave you with this:
Forward Soviet!!! Shut the fucker down.
I'm not a conservative person, but what good did ever come from a soviet? We have to shut "the fucker" down by ourselves.
Oops. sorry I accidentally pushed the red thumb down by mistake. What I meant is you should have linked that new song, "the cup song?" otherwise known by the refrain "You're gonna miss me when I 'm gone," applicable to all the freeloaders of our society, especially the politicians, natch! I think a parody of this should be coming out by the democrats directed at the freeloading masses.
Military recruiters exempt. Must..Keep..War machine..Alive.
as somebody said in another thread, this is kabuki theather, not kung fu theater (that would be too entertaining), to keep the sheeple fearful of what "might" happen if the gov shuts down. Shut down already! I was hoping this would of stuck in 1994 with the so called Gingrich revolution that didn't transpire.
"Q. What would be the effect on the economy if the two sides miss the deadline for passing the spending measure?
A. About one-third of the government will shut down. About 800,000 of about 2.1 million federal employees will be sent home without pay. National parks will close."
My God, I just jizzed my pants.
A bonus is that I have a State forest in my back yard. Deer, Wolves, Coyotes, Fischer Cats...even the stray black bear.
Let's do it!
Can we permanently lay off these 800,000 parasites? Please?
What? You mean we can just raise the debt ceiling one more time again?
And push the problem a little further down the road?
If Ben Bernanke can do it, so can everyone.
A few days of posturing, then back to where we were before, just a whole lot worse.
Why would anyone expect anything different? (Maybe they can call up little Timmay and ask where else they can steal some moar money from)
If they had any appetite to deal with it, they would have done it in May.
The Empire has fallen.
Does EBT keep flowin' ? I'd bet there would be a lot of cranky MFers if the free shit stops
Hey....ummmm, not stating the obvious here, but.
Who's suspiciously absent from lay offs?
Ahem...
NSA
Congressmen and their staffs..
Senators
Sssshhhhhhwwwwiiinnnngggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
LOL.
Busted.
"Even worse, the government could miss interest payments on Treasurys, triggering a first-ever default by the U.S. government."
No. The government will not miss interest payments. The bondholders are first in line. Everything else may get cut but those who are owed money on US Treasury securities are sure to get paid. And there is ample revenue to pay the interest, if not all the other things.
"What a fool I was, what dominated fool
To think that you were the Earth and sky
What a fool I was, what an elevated fool
What a mutton-headed dolt was I
No, my reverberating friend
You are not the beginning and the end"
-- Without You, [My Fair Lady]
Shut the fucking banana republic down! This hasn't been a country worth a shit since Obunghole and Mooshell infested the White House anyway. Shut it down and leave it that way until we get some adults back in the Senate and something other than a community organizing half breed mooslim socialist bastard as president. SHUT THE FUCKER DOWN!!!
Umm, I think the decline preceded Barry. How about the JFK assassination, bringing 1000s of Nazis into the US to work for the gov in Operation Paperclip, or maybe the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 that was required by the Constitution to be ratified by 3/4 of the states but wasn't? Racial and religious name calling just obscure these issues. Regarding Barry's background, look into who his real daddy was here:
Barack Obama's real father was Frank Marshall Davis, a Communist Party USA propagandist living in Hawaii
A shut down would require the Rs to sprout a pair where no pair currently exists. Even though the House is the Only Thing standing between the American people and Darth Obama they just do not seem willing to do the ONE THING that they have in their power to stop him....withhold funding.
50% or 800,000 workers in the Dept of Defense? I want all of the Pentagon shut down and moved to the Middle East. We have persistent, recurring problems there that our military can't solve. And if we're in the Middle East for the oil, then all the more reason to shut the Pentagon. They need to be on the scene. Delist Halliburton and defense stocks from the US stock exchange. They can trade on Syria's stock exchange or go private. Just 3 weeks ago, the Republicans wanted to bomb Syria and they got told no in no uncertain terms. Now they want to shut down the US govenment? Republican corruption on full display.
What I found most surprising is the 300K+ employees of the VA. That's a pretty high tail to tooth ratio...the sad thing is you could double some of the assumptions in the thread here about annual salary costs and eliminate every single one of the jobs and in the process eliminate at most 1/3 of the annual deficit we've been running in recent years.
Have no fear... seems like money printers and engravers must still work..
A shut down is a great idea. One of the cuts should be Congressional and White House staffs to 2 people per. 535+1 = 536 x 2 = 1072. Oh...less time to waste and the First Lady is not elected. She can take care of her own daily tasks.
Re Govt Shutdown - What Happens next?
AIPAC demands a refund?
Bill Clinton: When It Comes to Obamacare, GOP 'Begging for America to Fail'Bill, another pig elitist who has "earned" $100 million since leaving office. Al Gore $500million since leaving office. Hillary makes $200K per speaking engagement. Is this "free market" or is this bribery for public servants to fuck over the electorate and be rewarded by their paymasters later? Watched Max Keiser interview George Galloway MP who discusses this pattern of wealth being bestowed upon people like Tony Blair for betraying the public trust.
Kickstarter movie project by Galloway: The Killing of Tony Blair
Don't worry the President can still play golf and vote "present".
OMG! The evil republicans want to take Obama's credit card away! It's the end of the world! I wish I could borrow at 3%, and raise my credit limit indefinitely. If you get me one of those credit cards, I promise that I'll create as much "demand" as you are able to supply.
Who cares about the "economy". It's just a word to be used as an excuse for sheeple consumption to do everything irrational and criminal and illegal. Get over it already.
Interesting how it's Homeland Suppression and Dept. of Injustice that keeps working. If there are any agencies in that list that need to be "furloughed" permanently it's them.