When it comes to the so-called “fiscal cliff,” the stakes just got a lot higher
By louisehartmann
Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner announced on Wednesday that in addition to the fiscal cliff deadline at the end of the year, the United States will also hit its borrowing limit on December 31st, meaning the debt-limit will have to be raised a lot sooner than previously believed. Unlike going over the fiscal cliff, which will have very little economic impact in the short-term, refusing to raise the debt-limit and forcing the United States to default, would have immediate and catastrophic effects. Not only would the US economy be impacted, but the entire world’s economy would as well. But that won’t stop Republicans from using the debt-limit as leverage to force the President to agree to steep spending cuts that target working families across America.
Between the manufactured “fiscal cliff” and the Republicans refusal to compromise over the debt-limit, never in our nation’s history has Congress been responsible for inflicting so many economic wounds on our nation. And we can blame the Tea Party for the chaos on Capitol Hill today, as they were elected by billionaires in 2010, they clearly have no interest in governing, and no knowledge of what the debt-limit even is. And in blaming the Tea Party, we also have to blame the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which allowed billionaires to spend unlimited money electing these retrograde politicians who are hell-bent on playing disaster capitalism to remake America into a billionaires’ paradise.
Comments
#2
It seems we are fighting a brick wall.
#3
I finally listened to Thom's podcast from Dec 28 hour 2. He sounded like Abraham Lincoln. He said Obama should mint platimum coins with a face value of 1 trillion dollars and use them to pay off the debt. Thus, he would remove Boehner's main source of power.
I like Lincoln's other thing he actually did with respect to the economy. He introduced the income tax and only the top 1% paid it.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
With His Holiness The Dalai Lama, at His home in Dharamsala, India (Synthesis Dialogues - made into a movie narrated by Harrison Ford)
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"With the ever-growing influence of corporate CEOs and their right-wing allies in all aspects of American life, Hartmann’s work is more relevant than ever. Throughout his career, Hartmann has spoken compellingly about the value of people-centered democracy and the challenges that millions of ordinary Americans face today as a result of a dogma dedicated to putting profit above all else. This collection is a rousing call for Americans to work together and put people first again."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann channels the best of the American Founders with voice and pen. His deep attachment to a democratic civil society is just the medicine America needs."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom is a national treasure. Read him, embrace him, learn from him, and follow him as we all work for social change."
Ravi Batra groups the GDP growth by decades and includes the max tax rates (both corporate and personal) during the period.
His numbers are
1950s 4.1%
1960s 4.4%
1970s 3.3%
1980s 3.1
1990s 3.1
2000-2004 2.8
His source is "Economic Report of the President 1988-2004"
I think these essentially line up with your numbers. It shows a 30% decline from the 60s to 80s which must be considered significant. Through the magic of numbers one could also the growth rate in 60s was 42% higher than during the 80s.
As I find time, I will continue to comment here until you quit responding.