I don’t know that they truly would have defaulted, since it was very clear by the media that it would be catastrophic and their fault. They may be stupid enough to try it. At least we have a reprieve for two years.
The old concept (one of several that have been thrown aside recently) of ʻdebate and compromiseʻ was partially resurrected and something came out of it. Will the rest of the snot nosed kids catch on?
And what a great deal it was. “directs the federal government to approve any outstanding permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline and blocks courts from reviewing them or any other agency action in approval of the project.”. Because giant corporations should never have their destructive projects affected by petty things like regulations and court proceedings. The methane must flow!
Oh, and guess what’s protected from any cuts. The Pentagon, now with an official budget of 886 billion – and money to Ukraine.
If we had a proactive, progressive Congress NOW would be the time to write a bill dealing with the TWO separate issues of the debt ceiling and the budget. We could call it the “Let’s Pay Our Bills Act”. It should be a many faceted law designed to make it easier for Congress to do its job.
First: It needs mandatory training for ALL members of Congress explaining to them WHY we need taxes and WHY we can’t just not pay our bills and WHY we can’t use the budget as a tool to get what they want. Congressmen should not be allowed to vote on budget issues until they’ve passed this training.
Second: It needs a progressive reform of our structure. It needs to recognize that corporations are artificial institutions designed to BOTH generate income for the public AND a tax base for states and the Federal government. As such they need to be taxed wisely and heavily.
Third: There should be permanent line items in our budget, such as for Social Security, SNAP, and the VA which are reviewed periodically to ensure that they receive sufficient funding, but that funding should never, ever be at risk.
Fourth: The United States will soon be 250 years old. We should be writing budgets lasting decades. Centuries! We should be working on projects with a long term outlook. It is ridiculous that we write short term budgets, designed to get us through the next election.
Finally: We need a Constitutional Amendment which states in no uncertain terms that we will ALWAYS pay our debts. We can’t do through this every time Republicans hold the House.
Both parties complain about “kicking the can down the road”. Well, if we want nice things we’re going to have to find a way to budget and plan for them. I bought my house on a 30 year mortgage. I’ll never pay it off, I’ll be dead in 30 years. I kicked the can down the road, didn’t I? But we have a nice place to live in and my kids will take care of the house and the mortgage when the time comes. Just like I did with my parents house.
Was there ever a real question about defaulting? They play this game every time.. and with the same results. Postpone till the last minute, slip in some pork where it won’t be found. Everyone signs without having time to properly digest the bill.. And a few politicians make out like bandits ensuring their success the next election.
Imagine how much actual work Congress could have pretended to accomplish if the Democrats would have passed an increase without an expiration date instead of passing one due to expire this year. We could have avoided the fake drama for some different fake drama instead.
Flashaaway 11 months ago
Sheer bloody mindedness from the right not wanting to own their debt.
FreyjaRN Premium Member 11 months ago
I don’t know that they truly would have defaulted, since it was very clear by the media that it would be catastrophic and their fault. They may be stupid enough to try it. At least we have a reprieve for two years.
lopaka 11 months ago
The old concept (one of several that have been thrown aside recently) of ʻdebate and compromiseʻ was partially resurrected and something came out of it. Will the rest of the snot nosed kids catch on?
mrwiskers 11 months ago
Thanks Biden, McCarthy and all their negotiators. And maybe you guys can agree to quit cutting taxes while increasing spending (even 1%).
Cerabooge 11 months ago
And what a great deal it was. “directs the federal government to approve any outstanding permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline and blocks courts from reviewing them or any other agency action in approval of the project.”. Because giant corporations should never have their destructive projects affected by petty things like regulations and court proceedings. The methane must flow!
Oh, and guess what’s protected from any cuts. The Pentagon, now with an official budget of 886 billion – and money to Ukraine.
Durak Premium Member 11 months ago
If we had a proactive, progressive Congress NOW would be the time to write a bill dealing with the TWO separate issues of the debt ceiling and the budget. We could call it the “Let’s Pay Our Bills Act”. It should be a many faceted law designed to make it easier for Congress to do its job.
First: It needs mandatory training for ALL members of Congress explaining to them WHY we need taxes and WHY we can’t just not pay our bills and WHY we can’t use the budget as a tool to get what they want. Congressmen should not be allowed to vote on budget issues until they’ve passed this training.
Second: It needs a progressive reform of our structure. It needs to recognize that corporations are artificial institutions designed to BOTH generate income for the public AND a tax base for states and the Federal government. As such they need to be taxed wisely and heavily.
Third: There should be permanent line items in our budget, such as for Social Security, SNAP, and the VA which are reviewed periodically to ensure that they receive sufficient funding, but that funding should never, ever be at risk.
Fourth: The United States will soon be 250 years old. We should be writing budgets lasting decades. Centuries! We should be working on projects with a long term outlook. It is ridiculous that we write short term budgets, designed to get us through the next election.
Finally: We need a Constitutional Amendment which states in no uncertain terms that we will ALWAYS pay our debts. We can’t do through this every time Republicans hold the House.
Both parties complain about “kicking the can down the road”. Well, if we want nice things we’re going to have to find a way to budget and plan for them. I bought my house on a 30 year mortgage. I’ll never pay it off, I’ll be dead in 30 years. I kicked the can down the road, didn’t I? But we have a nice place to live in and my kids will take care of the house and the mortgage when the time comes. Just like I did with my parents house.
Flatlander, purveyor of fine covfefe 11 months ago
I live in a country with budgetary surpluses and attention to paying down the debt, without going in deeper and deeper
Alberta Oil Premium Member 11 months ago
Was there ever a real question about defaulting? They play this game every time.. and with the same results. Postpone till the last minute, slip in some pork where it won’t be found. Everyone signs without having time to properly digest the bill.. And a few politicians make out like bandits ensuring their success the next election.
AndrewSihler 11 months ago
Well, yes, but the implied comparison between credit cards and the debt limit is misleading, or to speak more plainly, wrong.
moondog42 Premium Member 11 months ago
Imagine how much actual work Congress could have pretended to accomplish if the Democrats would have passed an increase without an expiration date instead of passing one due to expire this year. We could have avoided the fake drama for some different fake drama instead.