This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
The Drama Is Back: Boehner To Hold Press Conference At Market Close
For a day that was supposed to be full of drama, fury, margin calls and overall bloodshed, newsflow is so boring, for a second we wanted to demand our money back from management, or the kleptocracy, whoever it is that prints these things nowadays. However, some excitement may yet be salvaged now that Boehner has just called for a news conference precisely on the closing bell at 4pm. We assume this will be to present details of his two-tiered plan, which we touched upon earlier, and which Fox News now provides some additional details on. Suffice to say, if Obama were to accept the terms contained herein it would be complete embarrassment for the head executive, as Boehner is literally demanding everything, up to and including a balanced budget amendment, that Obama swore he would not cede.
Per Fox' Chad Pergram:
The approach was received from a senior GOP leadership aide and reads as follows:
Two-Step Approach to Hold President Obama Accountable
Republicans insisted if the President wants his debt ceiling increase, the American people will require serious spending cuts and reforms. This two-step approach meets House Republicans' criteria by (1) making spending cuts that are larger than any debt ceiling increase; (2) implementing spending caps to restrain future spending; and (3) advancing the cause of the Balanced Budget Amendment - without tax hikes on families and job creators. While this is not the House-passed "Cut, Cap, & Balance," it is a package that reflects the principles of Cut, Cap, & Balance. Here is more information on the plan:
--Cuts That Exceed The Debt Hike. The framework would cut and cap discretionary spending immediately, saving $1.2 trillion over 10 years (subject to CBO confirmation), and raise the debt ceiling by less - up to $1 trillion.
--Caps To Control Future Spending. The framework imposes spending caps that would establish clear limits on future spending and serve as a barrier against government expansion while the economy grows. Failure to remain below these caps will trigger automatic across-the-board cuts (otherwise known as sequestration).
--Balanced Budget Amendment. The framework advances the cause of the Balanced Budget Amendment by requiring the House and Senate to vote on the measure after October 1, 2011 but before the end of the year, allowing the American people time to build sufficient support for this popular reform.
--Entitlement Reforms & Savings. The framework creates a Joint Committee of Congress that is required to report legislation that would produce a proposal to reduce the deficit by at least $1.8 trillion over 10 years. Each Chamber would consider the proposal of the Joint Committee on an up-or-down basis without any amendments. If the proposal is enacted, then the President would be authorized to request a debt limit increase of $1.6 trillion.
--No Tax Hikes. The framework included no tax hikes, a key principle that Republicans have been fighting for since day one.
»
- 8247 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
stay firm boehner
Send the Boehner some Cialis for Daily Use (tm)!
+14.3 trillion
+ the same amount.
I really hope Boehner does not cave and make a horrible deal.
Read my take at my blog! Don't have the link? Send me a gmail at my name and promise you will behave. Two new articles, one a fun new xtranormal silver video (w/ robots, thx Cyndi!) and what happens if we DEFAULT (unlikely IMO, but possible). I am curious to get more views on what might happen if we DEFAULT.
Is that advice or a sort of note-to-self?
Hookers & Blow; Life is Short, Have Fun.
An Economic Treastise in Rational -vs- Rationing.
by John Maynard Keynes (Krugman Publishing House 2011)
Will Krugman Publishing pay me $40.00 for that book? And $40.00 more to read it...
LOL, TIS
Oh, I'd be soo unhappy if our chief executive was embarrassed. That would be just awful.
lol...good one!
Thats what she said.
gotta love the two step
There's no way in hell Obama will accept any of that.
of course not.
Remember this IS his re-election and nothing else.
He could really careless about the consequences otherwise
The good news is, doing nothing is even better. Debt ceiling stays in place, they are forced to make immediate cuts, and it's like a balanced budget amendment is already passed as we couldn't run deficits and issue more debt until we paid some of it off.
Come to think of it, we really don't need any legislation at all. Let's let the debt ceiling do its job.
Agreed!
It sounds like the script of a Woody Allen Movie :)
but the sad part is that Disney wrote this scrip, so this means : EVERYTHING HAS A HAPPY ENDING!! Without the Azian chick in the end that is...
And then there's the nuclear option: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/could-obama-just-ignore-the-debt-ceiling/?partner=rss&emc=rss
There's no way in hell Obama will accept any of that.
He's trapped like a rat. Accept or Default. The Boehner squeeze!
Caught between a Boehner and a hard place.
Obama will get desperate. Howled accusations that Boehner is a racist and claims that senior citizens will be starving without their social security checks are sure to come by week's end, they'll empty the playbook on this one.
Boner has repeatedly stated that dealing with Obama was like negotiating with jello.
Caught between a boner & jello.
EXCELLENT commentary above guys!
But, we DO have a Deal worth mentioning: the Circus is on! The NFL PLayers have apparently agreed to their Deal with the owners. Party on, sheeple!
"--that Boehner is a racist--" will that be a type of O.J. Simpson defense? I don't care if they do run Sarah Palin next year; I'm not only going to vote for her I'l be a volunteer campaign worker.
Caught between a Boehner and a hard place... I hope Obama is prepared to give a deep throat.
I think the Boehner likes being squeezed.
Dr. Evil: Our early attempts went through several preparations. Preparations A through G were a complete failure. But now, ladies and gentlemen, we finally have a working tractor beam, which we shall call... Preparation H.
Number 2: Dr. Evil, I love your plan.
Dr. Evil: You do?
Frau Farbissina: Yah. It's a really good plan.
Dr. Evil: Yes Frau, on the whole Preparation H feels good.
It's not up to Obama.
Reid and Pelosi will make the decision...
Reid and Pelosi don't make decisions, they take orders.
Obama cant' cut a deal without them...
Well I'm hoping there's no deal at all, personally :)
And contrary to the talking heads, it doesn't mean default. It means prioritizing interest payments and cutting as needed. Long overdue.
Truely...
Maybe if they print it, put it in a brown enveloppe, thicking it up with a bit of more "green" paper and give it to him under the table?
Am I missing something here? How can anyone take any of this seriously when they are talking about cutting 1.5-2T over 10 years, and the annual defecit is 1.5T/year? Doesn't that fact alone make this entire thing completely pointless?
Doesn't that fact alone make this entire thing completely pointless?
Yes, and not to mention the fact that the actual deficit, due in large part to accrued SS and other obligations, is really about $5 Trillion annually.
And they can't even agree on a couple hundred billion this year.
Laughable.
Not to mention that any time any one of these a-holes mentions a 10 year timeframe, it's a guarantee they are lying to your face.
Since when does any current Congress give a shit about what promises were made 10 years earlier? It's hollow nonsense.
I have an idea, why don't we cut spending by $2T TODAY, and then we won't even need to raise the debt ceiling.
They may as well just talk about 100 year timelines.
JLee, redpill, SheepDog,
Agree with all your comments. You guys are clearly smart. :-~
We COULD always get our spending undr control (BIG CUTS). Yes, I know all the bleeding hearts will talk about suffering, and there is no doubt that some would suffer if we JUST CUT THE SPENDING. But, those (in greater part) are receiving money from .gov (that's likely me and you, guys). Cutting spending has the great advantage of being transparent too.
I have seen comments above on what may happen if we do nothing (ie, just let the Debt ceiling do the cutting for us). I ask all here (and read it at my blog): What happens if we default? So many variables involved...
Like 500 year fixed rate mortgages? Who WOULDN'T qualify? It's like 20 bucks/month! I serious no-brainer!
Well, see - first you just gotta believe in all kinds of change. Then it'll all make sense.
Maybe that's my problem. I really feel like I'm losing my mind when I watch the news. How do people talk about this with a straight face while completely ignoring the underlying issues? If I mention this to friends, they won't even acknowledge it.
And its only Monday.
The reason the newsies can keep a straight face is that they have no clue what the words scrolling across their teleprompter mean.
They are paid to look good and appear vaguely concerned.
Yup. Most of them are just vapid, pretty heads who have no idea what’s going down. However, you have to think some of them do.
What happens when a few more of them do figure it out? Will anyone have a Howard Beale moment? If so, I hope and pray it’s my boy Dom Chu…
Good call - I say these days it's gotta be BIG. Dom, Pimm, crew-cut Matt, and Maryam talking SHITE about how the system has collapsed. Butting in on each other and AGREEING what a pile of turds the politicians are and the system 'officially' went over the edge about 1.5 years ago!!
Most people are in a catatonic zombie-like state. Not just from prescription psychotropic drugs, but from the unconscious realization that their programmed-from-birth reality actually isn't real.
There is an alternative which I see you're already aware! Cheers!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr-kn0JG5p4
Agreed, It's a joke that 10 year time frame for cuts. I know everyone here thinks they will extend prior to the deadline. But something tells me that Boner is setting him up to take the fall.
If Boner can pull that off, he's a better politician than I realized.
Boner's a poltician, show me the TEXT of a bill he wants to bring to the floor, then I can at least separate the #'s and the BS. All we have now is politicians in an agonizing slow-motion televised Pong marathon.
Umm are you new to America? Have our politicians EVER done anything that wasn't short sighted and meant to kick the can down the road? Why should this time be any different?
Trust them to be who they are and do what they do best. Don't ever trust them to put your interests first.
A firm Boner; that's the spirit!
he's probably already burned through a full pack of his Marlboros today.
Know I have....
Boehner too is posturing for re-election. He cannot deliver the votes needed for any sensible plan, so he might as well come out with a plan the Tea Baggers love but the President cannot commit to.
What a wonderful world we live in. Boehner agrees to extend (no pun intended) the tax breaks set to sunset for rich folks in exchange for handing out more unemployment benefits to ex-working stiffs, then six months later, "no new taxes" because the "job creators" (must laugh out loud while reading that overused inaccurate phrase) will somehow hire someone with $1 billion instead of $800 million in cash on their balance sheets (dont look now GE).
But then again, arent Boehners are all about posturing?
Why you knocking Boehner for his Marlboros, blythe? You did heroin. JB is a pussy compared to you.
Travel tip for you b_B:
Next time you take a real train trip, sit in the Smoking Car for awhile. Always more interesting conversations int eh Smoking Car. No, I do not smoke. But, when by myself on the train (alas, rare now), I passed the hours much more pleasantly (and informatively) in conversations with the sinners than the sheep...
Boehner: Thank you, thank you....I'll be here all week, thanks for playing "America" folks.
Don't forget to tip your waitresses!
+++
You gain when you give like that.
And give the next homeless guy you run into enough money so that HE smiles (like a $20.00)... Generosity (at least once in awhile) yields good things. Try it!
How is Obama supposed to pay my mortgage if they pass all this shit?
LOL! yes, I think that's why he can never sign a balanced budget bill; because this is the mental level of his voters.
The US of A has long become a Laugh Act, A Joke of a Country! The debt ceiling will be raised but before that we'll see all that "drama" and sell off's and the whole shebang trust me on this one! This isn't even about the US it's about who will "run" the US! It's about the money not the people! Disgust is very understated of me right now!
STAB the drama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wn6LtZJTAQ
"that Obama swore he would not cede" >>>> Call it a done deal then. Just like tax hikes, public option, gay rights, and CHANGE.
Market fear -commence!
HAHAHA!!!
GOOD LUCK WITH THE NEXT ELECTION OBUMBLE!!!
If America can't reach a agreement, HOW can this man run for a second term? HE CAN'T!!
Does this page look "different" in Belgium too? or is it just something that went wrong in Hawaii?
Here in Belgium, everything goes wrong. Wrong is the new normal so I have no Idea where you're talking about :)
Just keep the mayo off the french fries goddamnit!
Don't go there buddy!
You're walking on a very thin line there!
What? The green banners? the Big green and Red 0's with up/down arrows?
We're trying green banners to mark "new" comments, grey to mark "read", and blue to mark your personal comments (instead of just throwing the word new in there). If it's generally disliked, we'll just do grey and blue.
The up and down arrows are a replacement for the junk system. More interactive/fun.
Do it or else....we'll kill the S&P by another 2 points tomorrow!
So what happens if the US loses AAA? I suspect an immediate rise in interest rates as we've seen hinted by the bond markets. But what then? What will the FED/Treasury's responses be? If they try to cap rates won't they be forced to do another QE? I mean won't rates go ballistic? Isn't there a risk that Treasuries could be sold en masse? Wouldn't a crisis like that be exactly the precursor needed for another QE?
"Something" else will happen that takes the focus off.
Oh, like some sort of event in the Middle East or Europe. That's right, nothing to see here folks.. Check out War TV at 5.
Here in Belgium we have a kind of similiar problem. We are WITHOUT GOVERNEMT FOR 410 DAYS NOW!
Bond rates are rissing.
The economy is going down.
SO WHAT DO THEY DO?
EVERY POLITICIAN TOOK 3 WEEKS OFF TO GO ON VACATION!!!
And what do the newpapers and the rest of the media have to say about that?
THEY TALK ABOUT THE BEAUTIFULL VACATION DESTINATIONS WHERE THOSE FUCKERS GO TO!!
I fully support politicians taking permanent holidays. I just wish they would shut down all national enforcement agencies first. I think that if a country is run well, just like a datacenter or even a flight, the government/administrators/pilots should spend most of their time being bored.
The Sad part is that somebody who worked for the govenrment just can't work in a private company.
After already 10 years, they are so conditionned that they'll never be able to change to the private sectors pace.
SO:
That's the reason governments and the apparatus will never change. It would take decades and presidents only think in 4 year horizons.
Just look at Obama:
He doesn't cares what happens in 5 years. He just wants enough money to play mister popular for the next 5 years because he thinks he'll get reelected.
And the sad part of that is that if Wallstreet gives him enough money again, he'll probable air enough commercials to convince America yet again to vote on him.
Just be glad it won't be Hillary.
They are not vacations, they are work. Have a look at Bachmann's trips for example.
Tel Avid, Jerusalem, and of course Palm Springs. Look at the the most visited place is for all the reps.
http://www.legistorm.com/trip/list/by/approver/id/823/name/Rep_Michele_Bachmann_MN/submenu/all.html
Peter G. Klein writes in There Is Life After Default, posted on Lew Rockwell today, that he is “struck by the frequent claim that defaulting on public debt is unthinkable because of the ‘signal’ that would send…” that “debt instruments backed by the ‘full faith and credit’ of the United States are supposed to be risk-free – almost magically so – somehow transcending the vagaries of ordinary debt markets...”
Writes Klein: “I find this line of reasoning unpersuasive. A T-bill is a bond just like any other bond. Corporations, municipalities, and other issuers default on bonds all the time, and the results are hardly catastrophic.
“Financial markets have been restructuring debt for many centuries, and they've gotten pretty good at it. From the discussion regarding T-bills, you'd think no one had ever heard of default-risk premiums before. (Interestingly, this seems to be a case of American exceptionalism: people aren't particularly happy about Greek, Irish, and Portuguese defaults, but no one thinks the world will end because of them.)
“So, isn't it time to demythologize all of this? Treasuries are bonds just like any other bonds. There's nothing magic, mythical, or sacred about them. A default on US government debt is no more or less radical than a default on any other kind of debt.
“‘What is prudence in the conduct of every private family can scarce be folly in that of a great kingdom,’ Adam Smith famously observed. Bankrupt firms, like bankrupt families, restructure their debt obligations all the time. The notion of T-bills as sacred relics to be once and forever 'risk-free' seems more like religion than economics to me.
“At the same time, there is another option for entities struggling to make their interest payments: asset sales…”
http://lewrockwell.com/orig11/klein-p2.1.1.html
Balanced Budget Amendment / This is the 800Lb Gorilla in the room. This is where the government will levy taxes at will to balance the budget as required. STOP SPENDING MONEY YOU DON'T HAVE! Why is that so hard for politicians to understand????????
Don't you get it? Their political career is more important than the life and liberty of the next generation.
Will there be a damn Consitutional Amendment ratifyed by the States?
The Constitution is soooo last century. Why put in more prohibitions on the government? Clearly the prohibitions in there now are not being adherred to, say like.....the right against unreasonable search and seizures, say like....... the Takings Clause, say like......Due Process of Law when detained by the government. What makes anyone think this would help anything? Yes, many US states have such a prohibition in their state constitutions, that is why our state economies are so healthy and have "balanced" budgets?
A correction in gold and silver imminent?
Gold is really overbought. Silver too.
A correction in Gold and Silver is not imminent. You didn't provide any rationale or references, so I didn't bother either. We have seen recently, short covering rallys and strong overseas support; not the "weather report" for corrections.
Gold option players really wanted to cash in some above 1600. Valuable option for Silver above 40$ too.
http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/Favorites.CServlet?obj=ID3186525&cmd=show[s234051676]&disp=P
Slow STO turning south on SLV. RSI(5) and RSI(14) too, while negative divergence all over. A correction is incoming. But the magnitude of the fall is not known yet.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/24/curl-is-obama-a-patholog...
Hey Boehner, nobody gives a shit. stfu already.
This new site format is all the change I can handle today. Check back tomorrow.
I can't believe we're all shocked at this bullshit, lets get back to bashing Greece or Portugal.....anybody but us, we're better than this, right?
Who is "we?" Ours is a strange and unique relationship -- you're strange, and I'm unique! :>D
Wow, they are cow towing to Wall St. again.
Nothing is more important than keeping stocks levitated.
Republicans have totally humiliated and embarrassed Obama. Even democrats are abandoning him.
I'm becoming more convinced that Obama is falling so far behind, his "Hail Mary" stimulus or jobs act is going to be a doozy.
Obama is an embarrassment all unto his own. Compromise from a leadership stand point is all that is required. If he has to give in this time, then he should to preserve the unity of his administration. Apparently compromise is not part of his lexicon.
I do somewhat agree that a "hail mary" may be coming but at this point the half life might be minutes. The market is going to be all about the US credit rating going forward. Any crazy spending plan just add's to the downgrade.
"cow towing"; I hate that part. They make such pitiful moaning noises, and it makes a mess.
The secret is a good set of roller skates (well, two actually).
Where did the junk button go ??
Budget cuts...
The Junk button was to expensive...
it was a hard decission but in the end we just had to let it go...
When the new Zero Hedge stimulus package comes, Tyler should add a button for "flag as hilarious". Many of your comments deserve such.
Junk Button and Old Font have been summoned to 1600 Penn Ave to hammer out a deficit deal.
LOL dream on about more free money delivered in Hefty bags to Wall St, from here on out its only about trying to maintain levels. 'Stimulus and jobs act' forget it.
There will be no new programs that get through the House.
The party is over. These House guys were elected to throw bombs and bombs they will throw. They are the most dangerous elected officials that can exist anywhere because:
They truly don't care about re-election.
They aren't pretending or deluding themselves about why they won election. They were elected to put an end to spending. That end is going to be fiscally contractive for years to come, and Senators up for re-election next year feel the wind on their finger held upwards. They, Democrats, will soon get that religion.
Ah, to be young and so optimistic! Denial is not just a river in Egypt (what's going on in Egypt, BTW?); the Decepticrats (and the Republicons too) are swimming right down the middle (watch out for the crocodiles, Guyz/Galz!)
Pardon me for saying so Robo:
Although I am not one of your well-established score of junkers it seems odd to see your comments left unjunked. I get this eery feeling that something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
This makes no sense to me. Money to fund this new stimulus plan that you have been predicting would need to come from either borrowing, new taxes, or reductions in other federal spending. And any tax increases or spending reductions are going to go into deficit reduction. So there is no way that Obama is going to get any money for new stimulus plans, especially considering that his previous plans didn't work.
This is about the total collapse of the Harvard/Princeton/establishment golablist derivatives bubble ponzi scheme that has already burst. Obama and his Boehner are engaging in mutual financial masturbation and nothing else, while those in the know steal what is left before the curtain goes down.
www.gold-silver.us/forum
www.derivativescollapse.com
www.joesixpack.me
www.revokethefed.com
www.financialblackmail.com
so...the only thing that is guaranteed in this plan is 2.6 trillion in new debt...in exchange for a "structure" and a "joint committee" that may possibly, just might, if the stars and planets align just right cut 2.8 trillion...over the next TEN YEARS...wow brilliant work mr.b how about some more crocodile tears at your presser today, just for effect...
Now Reid is countering with a 2.7 trillion plan with no new revenues.....but, they don't say when the cuts will be made and what will be cut. Venture a guess? How about no real cuts until after 2012 ...and....it will include the new BS chained CPI calculation. And Parry Harry Reid is having a press conference in about 15mins.
Obama's 4 trillion grand plan only had supposedly 2 billion of cuts in the first year. I don't know how true but I could believe it based on the history.
exactly...and the govt spends 10 billion PER DAY. These folks ain't serious. Where exactly DOES the buck stop??
That is a nice avatar~!
No matter what deal is made (and there will be a deal made) it will be meaningless and do nothing. Some accounting gimicks, hedonic adjutments, etc. and everything will be fine. The debt will still increase, the spending won't stop, and the can gets kicked a little further down the road, but everything will be fine.
Could we get on with this debt ceiling shit so that we can get back to things that really matter, such as gay marriage and abortion..........I mean come on
All these flashing lights, and not a share trading. HFT on strike?
+1
LOL. Nice one.
HFT on hunger strike, the robots see no more free money flowing to them.
Rolling blackouts maybe?
Bigger the drama the bigger the pop in the markets when they 'decide to settle it'...forget the fact the whole thing is insolvent! Keep hitting that hopium pipe bitchez!!!
This is all a joke. Everyone knows that, right? They are putting on a show like usual. The facts will not change in the end. Both sides are bankster puppets, and we "the little people" are effed regardless.
Pretty simple, really. When the hammer falls, the Obummer should make his first cut by ending all member and staff (not a Boehner joke...) salaries in Congress. Then it will no longer be the President's debt ceiling, it will be Congress debt ceiling, just as it really has been all along. It is up to Congress to resolve this, not Obummer. By letting them know what the consequence will be, I believe they might finally get serious.
Congress and Senators are millionaires, for the most part. Now their staff(s) on the other hand...
unions want bigger cuts of the big three profits. the fact that management will actually entertain this is entertaining in itself
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/UAW-wants-bigger-cut-of-apf-83207792.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=1&asset=&ccode=
what exactly is x% of 0 profits again? math wasnt my strong point....
They already have a significant chunk of the equity of the firms that signed a deal with the devil. How about the UAW repays the tens of billions in bailouts it received first?
I have no idea why anyone supports any of these idiots. Republicans & Democrats are both morons who have crushed this country with debt, dollar devaluation, outsourcing, raising the debt ceiling etc for years.
You may hate Obama but that doesn't mean you should like Boehner. Both parties ran this country into the ground for MANY years now. How come people still believe "their" party will improve things? Insanity is repeating the same thing that doesn't work, hence electing republicans & democrats
Obama sucks, Boehner sucks & none of the parties are addressing the problem. Chinese labor at 1/10th the cost will continue to lead to outsourcing & unemployment. Allow the free market to find slave labor & concentrate the wealth. Awesome future we have.
Why is everyone's total score 1?
Also why can't u sort comments from last to first? New UI kinda sucks
total score = IQ
I dont get the UI at all, makes no sense and is way harder to read than the previous one.
We only asked for a like button , and they change everything , and it is harder to read and not as much fun, oh well it was fun while it lasted. And spell check does not work
Me thinks 'yea' and 'nay' buttons are on the way. Nay?
Because our new egalitarian overlords bless us so. ;-)
Do you not see the Green & Red up/down arrows (&counters) near your avatar? Am I the only lucky one, here?
And nothing about tax reform. So both sides actually win. The democrats get to keep thier 40% of the population who get taxes back, and customize thier life accordingly. The republicans get to keep thier similar 10% Bachmann brigade types who do the same thing, i.e. folks that work for or run "charitable" organizations.
The top 1% pubs also get to keep thier ability to hygenine-motivate the 20% of the people in this country who actually do something, with the "hey, buy a bigger house, get that mortgage interest deduction. Taxes still to high? contribute to your 401k/IRA, comany stock preffered. Still not happy? well here are tickets to the ball game, that we write off the top line anyway. Or how about you donate like I do to the local pet shelter? Some day you'll be like me. I have a 10% effective tax rate on 10x your income and get to place my cronies all these 501c's. Keep working pleb, you'll get there someday. (cough,cough, bullshit).
Small business owners have the the same break down. for another 10%. The last 19% are the folks less than 2 degrees of separation from, but 100% focused on the .gov teat.
But most importantly, without tax reform they preserve all these wedge bi-furcation issues, which preserves thier way of life, which is divide and conquer and central planning.
We are truly, and completely fucked. 30 years of creating the problem, followed by 30 years of hoping the same type of thinking gets us out of it.
This is what I try to explain to people who think replacing income tax with a consumption tax would be a "giveaway" to the rich. What they don't understand is the rich are in the best position to exploit a complicated income tax code. If they were taxed on their consumption instead, it would be a WEALTH TAX, instead of a phony "declared gross taxable income" tax.
Right. So if you are one of the legitmate decent uber wealthy types, and a penny pincher, great, you can pass your wealth to your kids. if they are spoiled brats they spend your money out the government will get a hefty share. If you are a dirt bag elite, and you need a yaut with hookers to impress clients, fine buy 'em but pay the tax on it. If you need one of your kids to have a job, you can't get them on the local ________ charity, and get your other dirtbag elite buddies to donate to it (you will do the same for thier adult childrens' playpen.)
If you are truly poor, and the consumption tax excludes basics, you will be fine. If you are the typical "poor" american you get a pancea of government benefits, for both you and your children, so your money goes to 25" rims on pick up trucks. Fine, but you get taxed on those things.
I forget who said it recently on the MSM, but it was a centrist. (s)he said "Tax exemptions and deductions are meant to be incentives, but no matter what the orginal intent, after 2 years they categorically beome loopholes" Our children are not stupid. They will make career choices based on this broken, non-meritrocious framework, and that will continue to ruin the country.
Who give a crap about medicare in 2025. There wont be any doctors left to consume the payments. We'll have that guy from the Apple commercials/idiocracy/die hard 4.
America has already lost its AAA rating and it completely bankrupt. Everyone who knows anything knows this. Moody's and S&P are buffoons and they've had it wrong for the last 10 years. On another note, this debt ceiling crisis is a complete manufactured crisis to benefit politicians with a political agenda. Bush had been at the debt ceiling a few times during his presidency and nothing was made of it. If those thimble brained clowns running the show really wanted to they could simply cancel the $1.6 trillion in bonds currently owned by the US Treasury. The joke, as always, is on the middle class taxpayer.
Obummer made something of it.....speaking on the record on the floor of the Senate. He said raising the debt limit was a sign of failed leadership. Yep. He was right the first time.
The drama is back, so is the dilemma.
Pay me now, or pay me later, says a car mechanic.
Not passing resolution to increase the debt ceiling, downgrade, says a discredited rating agency. Passing resolution to increase debt ceiling, but not cutting spending or increasing additional tax enough, downgrade, says another discredited rating agency.
Increasing debt ceiling without correspondent increasing of revenue, veto, says the president with alleged spurious birth certificates. Increasing debt ceiling without a bigger spending cuts, no way, says the leader of a now-almost-defunct Republican party.
Increasing debt ceiling without simultaneously raising revenue, non-starter, says the majority leader of the Demon-cratic party, in violation of the sacred vow of Spending Other Peoples' money principle.
Folks, you know you are categorically, apodicticly, resolutely, and helplessly F&&&&&&..........Yet the drama lives.
Bill Clinton would raise debt ceiling, bypass Congress..bill clinton is smarterClinton knew how to handle this kinda shit, first, take the edge off with a nice blowjob....... then make the deal you want and have the other guy think he got what he wanted. Man, I miss 'ol Bill.
$200 billion a year in cuts? Treasury needs that amount MONTHLY as thats how much theyve raided from govt pensions just since QE2 'ended'. All nothing but just pure BS, and I dont think anyones buying it. Certainly this is not further vast Wall St free money.
And THEN?!
And THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN!
Also, Senator Harry Reid to speak to the press on debt ceiling in a few minutes on bloomberg.
Just Harry Reids face on TV in the old days (2 years ago) would be cause to send the markets into a -3% tailspin. Probably gain a solid 100 point up swing today though, no matter what is said.
'At market close'...what a bunch of weasels.
In the empire where Lies and Truth are inverted, so is the business day...
Truth is treason in the empire of lies- Ron Paul
That it is, b.B. Ron Paul hits it out of the park again and again..
A balanced budget amendment would make the Ryan Plan unconstitutional. I guess he better get back to the drawing board.