Obama's Debt Ceiling Plan?
After allowing Biden and the Republicans to reach an impasse, after allowing Congress to debate the budget for weeks, after quietly communicating with Congressional caucuses and political party leaders, and after secret private sessions with Boehner; Obama calls for a top level meeting where he first warned Republicans that neither party would gain politically from Obama's proposals.
Obama opened the discussion with a wide variety of programs subject to possible cuts and a demand to increase government revenues in some fashion. For the first time, current or future Social Security recipients might see cuts in benefits.
Obama wants 4 trillion dollars cut from the budget over the next decade with triggers to ensure that spending is cut. After the meeting, the staff was assigned the tasks of generating suggestions on how new government revenues can be generated.
Contrary to Republican claims, Obama has been working hard in the background while the feuding in Congress made headlines. Once again, Obama emerges as the astute nation's leader. And as he did this, both Republican and Democratic Congress members received egg in the face.
The Democrats in Congress feel like Obama sold them out and the Republicans find themselves in a precarious position. Boehner said he could agree to raising government revenues long as taxes were not increased.
Cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are extremely unpopular. The proposed cuts constitute a broken promise. Are the Republicans willing to touch Social Security? What kind of new government revenues would not be considered tax increases?
So where is this all headed? Apparently Congress will receive a budget that is so unpopular the House and Senate will unanimously reject it. And even if the budget passes and is signed by Obama, any part of it can be repealed at any time over the next decade.
And then Obama, after declaring a dire financial emergency, issues an executive order to raise the debt ceiling and make the national debt payments due???
About time the Supreme Court renders a decision on the Executive Order, the debt will have been paid and the financial crisis will have passed. We will all have been faced with very unpopular choices for reducing the national debt and an unprecedented Constitutional battle.
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Published by John Mario
As a child, I wrote short stories and read them to my friends. I studied interior house wiring in a vocational high school. I majored in electrical engineering in college. I worked for 8 years as an electon... View profile
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