About Debt Crisis

Following are two messages I received from my very irate friend, Gale, about what was going on during the “debt crisis”.  Following her two messages is a link  to an article; 10 inconvenient truths about debt ceiling.

Message #1

This so-called debt deal does nothing to solve our trillion dollar deficit and ends up only "kicking the can further down the road!"  It will only cause more unemployment, more income and wealth inequality and will lead us back into another "great recession."   If anything, our Congress proved to the world just how dysfunctional they truly are. Our Congress has placed this country at a greater risk of losing its superpower status, and, as I stated twenty some years ago to a disbelieving supervisor at the State Dept., China will replace the U.S. as a superpower!  And who do we have to thank for all of this---the Tea Party!  We have allowed this extremist group to hold our Congress hostage, and that is totally inexcusable!  How can a handful of extremists, out of 260,000,000 eligible voters, dictate what Congress can and cannot do?  They are the minority, not the majority, but yet their voices are heard high above the rest of ours, and that is totally inexcusable!

The following article appeared on the 'Net this morning:

"Twenty-two protesters were arrested Monday after disrupting the opening of the House debate on a bill to resolve the debt limit crisis, Capitol Police said.  Police quickly removed the protesters from the House spectators' gallery after they interrupted the floor debate by unfurling a banner and chanting. They could be heard shouting "Boehner, get off it. It's time to tax corporate profits." House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, was not on the House floor at the time. He has opposed any tax increases to help balance the federal budget. The group National People's Action later issued a statement saying the protesters had come to Washington to demand that Boehner and Republicans stop protecting the wealthy and Wall Street and look for solutions that create jobs and raise revenue to help Americans in need."

Instead of 22 protesters, there should have been hundreds of thousands of us on the steps of the Capitol!!!  That is the only way we can silence the Tea Party!

Message 2

 I am very angry with Obama for not invoking the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling.  Since Congress failed to come up with a satisfactory plan that was fair to ALL people, he should have done what Harry Truman did--invoke the 14th Amendment and raised the debt ceiling!!! It would have shown the American people and the world that he is a LEADER and not a FOLLOWER! Even a group of House democrats called for him to invoke the 14th!  I agree with Senator Boxer when she said that "[i]f [Republicans] want to make this country a deadbeat nation, this president shouldn't allow it, none of us should allow it."  He should not have taken this option off the table so fast irregardless of whether his counsel had advised against it.  According to the 14th, "the debts of the U.S. shall not be questioned," so since Congress failed to come up with a satisfactory plan that was in the best interests of ALL Americans, Obama should have vetoed the plan and invoked the 14th!  The poor and the middle class were sold out, AGAIN!  We are left shouldering the burden, AS ALWAYS!  Look, I'm not asking for a "bailout" from our government.  I just want them to make life just a little bit easier for us; make the playing ground a little more even.  I want those who CAN afford it to make the same damn sacrifices I am asked and required to make.  I honestly don't think that is too much to ask of Congress, do you?  But, when Congress only has ears for a minority group and disregards the voices of the majority, then this country has a serious problem.  It appears that we now have a Congress who is being held hostage by a minority right-wing extremist group who is hellbent in turning a democratic country into a fascist state, and that cannot be allowed!!!!!

The establishment of a 12-person "bipartisan" committee is a joke and an insult to our intelligence!  I wonder how many of those six who will be representing the Republicans are members of the Tea Party or whose election (reelection) was financed by the Tea Party?  And, exactly what will be accomplished if the Tea Party is allowed to also dictate the terms of said deficit reduction policy?  How will this benefit ALL Americans?

These are truly frightening times!

Following is the article, preceded by a quote from a commenter.

There is no constitutional requirement for, nor fiscal need to have a debt ceiling.

Since Congress levies all revenue and spending measures, the debt ceiling is
(pick your favorite):

1) A feel good smokescreen
2) A ruse on the populace
3) A potential source of mischief for opponents of any administration with sufficient votes in at least one house of Congress.

http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/10-inconvenient-truths-about-debt-ceiling