[CNBC] S&P contacts White House to notify about a downgrade coming

As long as the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing has green ink, the US will not default on it's debt. The default argument was a lie from the start, the latest in a series of scare tactics by our 'leadership'. No one with any experience in finance or economics believed default was an option.

The Tea Party stepped forward and demanded a stop to reckless deficit spending -- the nation owes them a debt of gratitude for stopping the insanity. The Tea Party also supported its own bill, Cut Cap & Balance. Cutting, capping and balancing is philosophically at odds with the Democrats current strategy of wealth redistribution and increased government influence in our lives. The Democrats' opposition to Cut Cap & Balance gives you all the proof you need that they don't want to see the deficit brought back into line -- that makes it much harder for them to buy votes through entitlement programs.

 

The left is having difficulty coming to grips with the fact that there is no money left to implement their agenda, and the line of credit is running out. They are lashing out with claims of terrorism and hostage taking, the last refuge of a side without a persuasive argument.

Since they are redistributionists at heart, why not just means test entitlement programs? They're just another form of welfare anyway, why give it to the rich? Rand Paul and Paul Ryan have proposed this very solution. Why does Obama rail against tax breaks for the rich but never complains about entitlements for the rich? Especially since those programs are our primary driver of debt.

The left's social agenda is being devoured by entitlements and liberalism will soon amount to nothing but writing checks to old people (who have most of society's wealth to begin with).

 

Thomas Jefferson was right about the banks....they are far too powerful now.....maybe Venezuela had it right.

DD

 

We need to cut spending on the military and redirect some spending to public works.

Getting a handle on fiscal responsibility is crucial.......when $.26 of every dollar collected in taxes goes to paying the INTEREST only, that is a problem.

Got to cut that crap out....just pay off the principal, play hardball, no more interest payments, we are paying principal only.

Except on paper held by US citizens of course.



DD

 

The left's agenda is to raise taxes to cut the deficit. Each of the last two Democratic administrations have not gone on spending sprees. The only spending spree we have had was during the Bush + GOP Congress years.

Interest rates are near record lows. Try again.

Obama has proposed means-testing of some entitlement programs. He's also proposed reforms to SS. He's the one that initiated the debt commission, and he's the one that endorsed the Gang of Six proposal that reformed entitlements. The GOP ran away because it also included revenue increases.

It's almost as though you haven't actually been paying attention to anything and are just spouting off GOP talking points from 10 years ago.

 

Except for the minor detail where neither the GOP nor the Tea Party EVER actually proposed a budget of any sort that fit under their proposed cap. Paul Ryan's budget that GOPers ran away from wouldn't even come close to fitting under the cap.

 

I think we need to do a few things. We need to raise taxes on the rich, close corporate loop holes, eliminate subsidies, and cap spending on medicare and other entitlement programs - including s.s..

All the money from that should be split 50% 50% into deficit reduction as well as economic stimulus (such as tax rebates, unemployment extensions, and payroll tax breaks).

One thing we could do is give small biz tax breaks for hiring workers collecting unemployment benefits.

I think raising corporate taxes to a higher level but letting companies that have over 50% of their workforce inside the U.S. should be kept at the same or lower tax rate.

We need to think deficit reduction and economic stimulus at the same time. We don't have to worry about inflation or interest rates. And there's plenty of pork to be cut out.

 

This may be a good thing. Its good to know there are at least some limitations to how much the federal government can borrow. Seems like they've been out of control since Nixon proclaimed, "We're all Keynesians now!"

 

You need to learn basic civics. The Congress is responsible for spending, budget and the purse strings.

 

He doesn't care - he is just trying to piss you off.

 

Reality checked it for you.

 

Interesting take. I am curious if Major will post a rebuttal as he has been a staunch advocate of the "reform" passed under Obama.

Regarding S&P:

1) I dislike the idea of taking S&P as gospel. They're a group of wall street rejects more political than analytical, with a horrid track record as of late.
2) Discounting 1, S&P clearly places the rationale for the downgrade on a lack of revenue in the associated press release. Furthermore, they also clearly state that using a threat to default as a political mechanism during legislative brawls directly influenced their decision. Who's fault is that?

 

No joke.

These guys need to wake up and realize the people who have spent the money and restricted the revenue that has wrecked our economy don't have a D next to their name.

The myth of the fiscally irresponsible Democrat is long dead.

 

I think most people know it was the Tea Party who got us the downgrade. I mean, the fact they were willing to risk default for their political agenda is really scary, and S&P basically said with these lunies in place you can't give the U.S. the Aaa rating.

We need to cut another 2 trillion on the deficit, contain entitlements, and find some room for stimulus somehow.

Rich got to contribute their share. It's time for them to throw the middle class a bone.

 

Anyone with number sense and a sense of history all the way back to the Clinton days knows that when the economy grows again with the hardly earth shaking tax rates of those years (eliminating the Bush tax breaks and a bit less elective war making the debt could be relatively painlessly eliminated.

Well social security comes from the taxes that workers and you, assuming you work, pay. Please explain why we should cut back on repaying you the money you paid in. Is this generosity on your part to the wealthy? Most Americans don't think it is fair or necessary to avoid paying back the ss taxes they paid.

As an aside would you want to not have the folks who hold your 401 K) assuming you have one, not pay it back to you and send the money to lessen the federal deficit. It would be the same unfairness.

BTW the same thing applies to Medicare. Suppose you have a Flexible Spending Account or some other tax advantaged medical savings account. Would you think that it would be fair to take that money and then use it to pay the federal debt? Same issue.

That is not to say that any sort of Medicare future funding issue is like any possible far in the future funding problem for Social Security which at worse projections by even idological enemies of social security will pay at least 80% of expected payout for50 plus years.

Sadly for the defenders of private insurance companies who tend to believe in the economics of the Fox News-libertarian-conservative talking points, the US cannot afford to pay twice as much for health care as the rest of the advanced or undeveloped world indefinitely. As an aside Medicaid which is paid by general revenues wastes a lot of money paying for expensive private medical care so dealing with the private insurance company inefficiency issue would help with the actual federal deficit directly instead of just trying to shuffle folks dedicated ss and Medicare taxes already paid to the deficit.