Who will blink first?
By Thom Hartmann A...
On Wednesday, President Obama raised the pressure on Congressional Republicans, and asked business groups to help avoid another economic crisis. In a speech before the Business Roundtable, the president urged business leaders to demand that Republicans end their continued “brinksmanship” over two upcoming budget deadlines. President Obama said, “I'm tired of it, and I suspect you are too.”
In his speech, the president reminded executives that the last time Republicans held our economy hostage, our nation's credit rating was downgraded, consumer confidence dropped, and the stock market fell 17 percent. He said, “You have never in the history of the United States seen the threat of not raising the debt ceiling [be used] to extort a president or a governing party. It's irresponsible.”
It's obvious that his comment was directed at Tea Party Republicans who are refusing to raise the debt limit unless the president delays or repeals Obamacare. Even so-called mainstream Republicans, like House Speaker John Boehner, have threatened to throw our nation into default unless the president submits to more GOP concessions.
Once again, President Obama renewed his promise not to negotiate over our nation's debt ceiling, and said, “What I will not do is create a habit, a pattern whereby the full faith and credit of the United States ends up being a bargaining chip to make policy.” Many Americans support the President's hard-line stance on fiscal negotiations, and want Republicans to stop the economic terrorism.
We're only weeks away from two important budget deadlines, and this debate is heating up fast. While Republicans continue to hold their breath and make demands, our economic future hangs in the balance. The president appears to be holding strong, and it will be interesting to see who blinks first in this fiscal showdown. Stay tuned.
Comments
#2
The United States spends 250 billion a year just on interest. Who gets all that? The Chinese? If there was no debt just think how much health care that would buy.
#3
What Obama policies have been a failure? As far as I have seen, he was unable to get anything thru Congress except one meager stim which everyone knew was not enough. I'm no spring chicken, and I will say that this is the worst obstruction I have EVER seen by a minority party. So, no it is not obvious that his economic policies have bee a failure, what has been shown is that the GOP obstruction has succeed in killing off the lives of the people they claim to represent. But, guess what? Their W.S. buddies and all corps in general are doing better than ever. Not that it will put food on anyone's table but their. You cannot see the plutocracy coming even in that bulldozer they're driving.
#4
NO, it's not the Chinese. They hold less than 1/3 of our debt. The greatest debt? Our own SS benefits program, that which you and I pay into for life, that which the GOP would like to wipe out so that debt will go away. It's aready been shown that IRA's and 401K's are a mass failure to replace SS. And guess why.... can you say 'volatile markets'?
#5
I want to know what Obama policies have been a failure. The republican house has not any legislation pass on anything Obama has proposed. The only thing that did get passed was the ACA (Obamacare) and by the all indications and the CBO it is going to be a complete sucess. Those states who have got their markets up and going it looks like insurance rates are going to be at 50% cheaper. All the house has got done was to vote to repeal Obamacare...42 times. They already put this nation into danger once refusing to raise the debt ceiling. There is a minority in the house holding this country hostage. They care more about their own ideals than this country.
#6
Here is the video of Colorado flooding over a leaking gas well:
No 'Significant' Oil or Gas Leaks in Colorado? Watch This Video
And another collection of videos:
Colorado Flooding: Deaths, Dramatic Rescues, Fracking & Broken Oil Pipeline
thanks to the source http://crooksandliars.com/
#7
Palindromedary: regarding last nights reply about the Robin Hood tax. I'm pretty sure that I've heard other countries have already successfully instituted this...so the financial groups threatening defection better check first. The rich brats always threaten to go play somewhere else when the taxman calls on them. They have used this same tactic on New York's Gov. Cuomo......"if you tax us we will leave your state"....he fell for it! I say let the brats leave, and don't let the door hit you in the ass!
#8
Global, we are adding jobs and not losing jobs, despite the best efforts of the Republicans...for 5 years now. So who is making this political?
#9
Let’s look at the facts.
Since the last administration’s fiscal “know-how” crashed the market and economy in the final 2008 chapter, car sales are waay up, GM posted a 103 year record high profit in 2011, house sales have increased dramatically (in my area, there is NO housing slump now), the stock market has hit record highs, my health insurance is cheaper with far better coverage, the two wars are no longer killing and maiming hundreds of American soldiers and setting us back a billion dollars a year, hundreds of people are booking cruises every week, according to Citigroup credit card delinquencies have fallen for 35 out of the last 41 months, credit card debt has declined, the U.S. has far outpaced its economic recovery compared to European counterparts, corporate profits are at an all-time high as a percentage of gross domestic product ---
AND THE NAYSAYERS STILL HAVE THE STUPIDITY TO SAY THAT OBAMA HAS DONE NOTHING TO RESTORE OUR ECONOMY?
#10
Hey, Global/Kend:Are you guys aware that most of our debt is the result of republican policy....as in massive tax cuts for the super rich while at the same time massively increasing military spending to fund global military adventures for profit. Not to mention Republican driven financial deregulation causing bubble crashes which in turn decreases tax revenue and increases safety net spending for all of the jobless.
Where were you Tea Party guys when all of this spending was going on? .....and why would you align yourselves with the party of out of control spending to begin with? Is it because the billionaires that created the Tea Party do all of the thinking for the party?The Teabaggers have played right into the hands of those who created the very debt problem the party is screaming about, c'mon wake up! When will you get that the billionaires just don't want to pay any tax and that doesn't include you?
President Obama needs to keep his promise and not negotiate with the Teaorists. Let them tear apart the Republican Party...and make 2014 truly the year for change we've all been waiting for.
#11
2950-10k: I agree!
#12
If you are happy with the way this economy is recovering then you really are an Obama drone. The American economy is experiencing the slowest recovery in 70 years. In addition to persistently high unemployment, labor force participation has fallen sharply since the recession began in December 2007. Today, 5.7 million fewer Americans are working or looking for work. This drop accounts for virtually the entire reduction of the unemployment rate since 2009—those not looking for work do not count as unemployed. The total lack of focus on policies that would stimulate the free market to generate growth and jobs has been pathetic. If not for the easy money of the federal reserve none of those things you mentioned would have happened. All Obama ever wants to do is borrow, steal and spend. That is the extent of his imagination and economic leadership.
#13
Mike-C: It's just another bubble that's certainly going to pop again. And you certainly can't judge what is really going on by what is happening in Wall Street. Those are just manipulated scamster numbers to pry more money out of those that still have any left in savings and checking accounts. It's just gambling and the casinos always win...especially when the games are all rigged....as it is in Wall Street. And don't be fooled...we're not done killing civilians yet...there is always another war around the corner even though they don't like to call them wars. Where will the US send their troops to slaughter innocent civilians this time around...hmmmm, I wonder? And just go ahead and tell me that the Obama administration is so fair and balanced..never has there been so many whistle blowers prosecuted, or would be prosecuted if they could get their hands on them. Never has there been a more secretive regime and never has there been such mistreatment of the American people...the NDAA...NSA..spying on people! And while the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have wound down...it sure took Obama long enough to get those troops back home...except for the ones still over there. He still hasn't dismantled the Torture chambers in Gitmo.
I do agree that the Republicans would not have done any better. Mainly because Obama is doing just about everything the ruling elite want. He'll pretend one thing and then give in to the Republicans. Who will blink first? I think Obama will...he always has in the past and he'll continue to do so. Why? Because he is really a Republican wearing a Democrat moniker. But really, it has nothing to do with Republican or Democrat...they are both owned by the ruling elite. The Republican and Democrats are merely two sides of the same coin...Heads I win..Tails you lose. And the ruling elite is the tosser....the manipulator of the rigged game. So, go ahead believe in the system...believe that it is safe for you to put your life's savings down on black 13 once again and you'll lose it all like so many others have already done.
#14
Quote Global:All Obama ever wants to do is borrow, steal and spend. That is the extent of his imagination and economic leadership.Yes, and that is all the Republicans have ever done...borrow, steal and spend as well ...except they have funneled all that money into the military death machines and made Wall Street fat cat manipulators very wealthy. Then, after all their deregulation and crooked schemes in Wall Street...failing banks...etc. Bush signs the $700billion bailout for the casino bankster...right before Obama gets into office. I can't say that Obama is completely without sin because he basically continued all of the Republican crimes from the Bush regime. I think we need to trash both parties because neither one really represents the majority of Americans.
#15
Quote 2950-10k:...most of our debt is the result of republican policy....as in massive tax cuts for the super rich while at the same time massively increasing military spending to fund global military adventures for profit. Not to mention Republican driven financial deregulation causing bubble crashes which in turn decreases tax revenue and increases safety net spending for all of the jobless.
Well said...and I agree.
#16
"Imagine a democratic speaker said to a republican president I'm not gonna increase the debt ceiling unless you increase corporate taxes by 20% and if you don't do it we will default on the debt and cause a worldwide financial crisis."-Barack Obama
#17
RaleighMom posted, a few days ago, a link of a BookTV lecture by Ellen Schultz about how employee pension plans were looted by employers.
Quote me-palindromeday:
Holy cow! Thanks for that link, RaleighMom! I suspected something like this was going on but never understood much of it. Ellen Schultz is really on top of it. Now, looking back I can see it all click into place. What an explosive revelation! And speaking of explosives... I wonder how any of this can help explain what happened on 9/11. I knew that there were massive corporate criminal investigations being undertaken in both the WTC towers and Building 7 and also on that side of the Pentagon that got hit. Some people may not see a connection but I sure do.Ellen Schultz: (roughly): Since the 90s, billions of dollars were being converted into profit by converting employee's pension plans into increased compensation to the executives. They used deceitful accounting practices and did things like freeze pension accounts, sometimes for years. They also used a scam of various mergers and buyouts that every time that happened the employees pension plans got smaller...and the executives bank accounts got a lot bigger...and they used deferred accounts to avoid paying taxes.
She said that back in 1974 the law was structured to protect employees from their pension plans being used by the company. And by the early 80s, the pension plans were huge...everything very good for the employees. But then old Ronnie Reagan(666) changed everything. The laws changed and Pension Raiders took over companies and screwed people out of their pensions. Other schemes cooked up by the top execs were to tell employees that they were replacing their old pension plans with new and improved pension plans...yeah, right! After 9/11 many companies that were going downhill took out massive amounts from the pension plans as they headed for disaster. Watch that video...very scary!
http://www.booktv.org/Watch/12833/Retirement+Heist+How+Companies+Plunder...
#18
Damn, I thought I was on a FOXNews blog for a minute, from some of the comments.
So, If Democrats did what the Republicans are doing (extortion), they would threaten to shut down the government if Republicans did not stop giving our tax money (paid by the middle class) to the wealthiest 1%.
if we had democrats running the country we wouldn't have all this debt. Is an easy call if you look at national debt graph since carter (the debt always goes Krazy when republicans are in office)..
todays topic.. Obama is correct, Republicans are using extortion to thwart the will of the people (Obama wonthe election).. Republicans are putting their politics ahead of what's good for America, by blocking and taking the opposite position of everything Obama does.
Note that I am not anobama supporter (because he is not much better than republicans).. I voted for Jill Stein.
#19
It's a good idea to be aware of your investment. When things get hard, you need to never pull cash out of your investments. You may have a retirement account with some cash sitting in it, but it should never be touched. Even in an emergency, you can just get installment payday cash advances rather than taking out of your retirement. Get more information at: Installment Payday Loan
#20
And while those employers were pushing their employees to "invest" a portion of their paychecks and keeping it riding on the Wall Street roulette wheel, they were not only stealing people's pensions but they were not abiding by the same "wisdom" they preached...investing for the long term. Instead of investing in their infrastructure..their employees...their equipment...they were pulling their cash out and sending it overseas...along with the American jobs. What happened when the banks were bailed out? They were supposed to use that money to loan to people and small businesses..but they didn't..they just sent that money out of the country as well.
They were also manipulating that roulette wheel on Wall Street and people saw all their investments, their 401Ks, etc. disappear. I think after people watch that video of Ellen Schultz they would have a change of mind about believing in the corporate lies they've been told. I think they would be shocked that they were so gullible.
#21
http://useconomy.about.com/od/monetarypolicy/f/Who-Owns-US-National-Debt...
They, the Republican leadership, are filled with hatred toward our half-white President. He has tried to co-operate with them over the years and all that has been accomplished is they turn around and poke a stick in his eye at every chance. I feel that the Republican Party is going to collapse under its own weight. We'll miss them.
#22
I hope both parties collapse under their own weight. They are both part of the rigged game that is destroying America. Don't be fooled by the big con that Obama is being beaten up by the Republicans. He is part of the con game. Part of the false hope that he sells us is that he works for us and the mean old Republicans are what stops him is just part of the ruling elite plan to screw us. Wake up and look at all the things he has done that really do fall in line with what the ruling elite wants all along. Look at the Obama administration's attitude toward whistle blowers. Look at all those that he appointed to top positions that were the very cause of our economic problems to begin with. Look at the so-called Obama Care (the ACA) which was originally a Republican plan where the government is the chief enforcer for the healthScare insurance industry....forcing you to make payments to those profit driven death panels.
Have you ever gone into a store and seen signs that said "Sale: 40% off"? Some people realize that what the store actually did was raise their prices by 50% then put up signs saying 40% off. You wind up paying 10% more but you think you are getting a real bargain. For example, Safeway has peaches for $2.49/lb...if you always shop at Safeway you might think you are getting a bargain if one day you go there and see that those peaches are now reduced to $1.50/lb. But other shoppers who go into the other store, or flea market, or farmer's market, know that they can buy peaches for $.99/lb and often even at $.79/lb. I never buy my peaches at Safeway. I buy them up at $.79/lb and then dry them or can them.
Have you noticed how the healthScare insurance companies raised their prices as the Obama Care law approached the deadlines? And some people are trying to tell you that "see there, already the Obama Care has made insurance prices cheaper!" It's a scam with government leg and arm breakers to enforce extorting the money from us for the insurance companies!
You may swallow the idea that Obama is trying to be fair and just trying to get along and that he is being pushed around but I don't buy it. It's all a flim-flam ruse foisted upon those gullible enough to believe their trickery. If you want to change things then work to throw the bums out...all of them...all of the Republicans and those Democrats who don't act like Democrats. They may talk like Democrats but they don't act like them.
Yes, it appears to be true that the Republicans are very bigoted and hateful and they are in a battle with Democrats and they will do anything to beat each other. But the real drivers...the real masters behind it are the ruling elite...and they don't really care whether Democrats or Republicans are in charge...as long as they do the bidding of the ruling elite.
Republicans, of course, is plan A...the preferred method of screwing us. Democrats is plan B... used to make extremely ticked off citizens hopeful that things will change for the good. It helps to keep them from really blowing up and getting massively physical...like in Egypt, Greece, etc. But those who are really paying attention can see what is happening. The Democrats pander false hope in order to deflate the potential for massive rebellion... something the ruling elite doesn't want to see happen.
So, both the Republicans and the Democrats are part of the rigged game that will never keep the wolves, the ruling elite, from devouring us. The Republicans do it quickly..and the Democrats do it more slowly..but behind our backs. They talk Democrat but they act Republican. The Democrats are back stabbers.
#23
The Twain Report
All The News That Mark Twain Says He Would Report If He Was Alive Today
9-19-2013
When President Obama reluctantly accepted Larry Summers' resignation, he said, "Much of the financial progress America has made, we owe to Mr. Summers' wise counsel."
He went on to say, "I am looking into finding someone who can give me advice of the same caliber. And before you go off on a tangent about me using the word caliber, I want to assure you that I am not talking about supporting more widespread gun ownership and a national stand your ground law."
Several republicans sank to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
Obama held up his hands in a conciliatory gesture, saying, "Now, ah, I know what the republicans are going to do. They are going to obstruct every effort I make to replace Larry."
John Boehner put down the morning's first box of merlot just long enough to say, "I object to President Obama characterizing the republican party as unable to present a candidate as evil as Larry Summers. Why, I could do the job myself."
When the hoots and catcalls died down, and Boehner sat back down to sulk and nurse his merlot, President Obama said, "Now, I have tried to work with you on this. I have made my standard conciliatory gesture of offering to move to a sharecroppers shack in texas and sell America down the drain in order to get this done, but the republicans have simply not been willing to work with me. Therefore, I have given an executive order to get the job done without the cooperation of the republicans."
Without revealing the exact nature of his executive order, President Obama quickly ended the press conference.
When the republicans found out what Obama had done, Erik Cantor held his own press conference and said, "As a republican, I will always be against stem cell research, but..."
Cantor seemed to be choking on something and unable to get his words out, but finally he continued, "... but I have to admit that the idea of using stem cell research to put the brain of a rabid monkey into the corpse of Idi Amin, and having that undead individual replace Larry Summers on Obama's staff, has a certain republicanesque charm to it. And I want to be the first republican to say that having a member of the rabid undead on Obama's staff would lead to just the kind of decision-making that has been the patriotic hallmark of the republican party ever since Reagan first drank the Ayn Rand draino."
#24
Very funny, Mr. Twain...I mean David Abbot! Still laughing!
#25
Thank you, Palindromedary, and as long as the republicans keep spoon-feeding me material, I promise to seek and relay Mr. Twain's wise counsel.
#26
Excellent!
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This is just all political theater noise. It should be obvious by now that the Obama economic policies have been a complete failure to turn the economy around and the federal reserve has been the only force holding it together. The federal reserve monetary policy dwarfs any little "piss ant" BS fiscal policy bickering. Damn, they are buying 85 billion dollars of debt every month. The big banks are making a fortune on the interest rate spreads-- what a racket!!