Cryptocurrency: Debtor Nations Still Crashing And Repeating Same Foolish Mistake... Political Debt Itself

grarpamp grarpamp at gmail.com
Sat May 13 11:55:46 PDT 2023


Congress Leaves Town With No Debt Deal As Biden, McCarthy Postpone Meeting

Congress left the Capitol this week with no deal on averting a
catastrophic debt ceiling default that may be as close as three weeks
away.

According to NBC News, a meeting scheduled for Friday between
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was
postponed until next week while top aides hash continue to negotiate
in the hopes of making more headway before the principal negotiators
are brought in.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) explains what year it is to
President Joe Biden on March 17, 2023. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images
file)

For weeks, the negotiations have boiled down to Democrats insisting
that Republicans agree to a 'clean' (blank check) debt ceiling
increase with no conditions, while Republicans demand that Democrats
make spending compromises which would pair a debt limit increase with
a budget agreement.

    With the debt limit having been raised, avoiding economic
catastrophe, the GOP could claim Democrats backed down from the
no-negotiations posture and Democrats could claim some wins in the
budget talks and focus on those.

    A potential bipartisan deal would “take the budget negotiations
and kind of blend it in with the raising of the debt ceiling," said
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of the Budget Committee tasked
with selecting topline spending figures for the government annually
and of the Appropriations Committee, which doles out that funding.
"We’ve eventually got to fund the government” in September, he noted.
-NBC News

"Maybe they can agree on some top lines that would show some fiscal
restraint and raise the debt ceiling, but we’ll get there," said
Graham.

Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) outlined four policy areas where Republicans
and Democrats may be able to strike a deal;

    Recapturing unspent Covid relief funds
    Overhauling the permitting process for infrastructure and energy projects
    Establishing spending caps for upcoming government funding bills
    Expanding work requirements for those receiving federal aid

"I think there’s a pretty good opportunity there," said Graves, a top
ally of McCarthy.

Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SC) thinks the four areas are the "lowest
hanging fruit" that could see bipartisan consensus.

"The White House has said that all of these Republican asks are
nonstarters. They will say they won’t accept anything. We know they
will," said Johnson, who chairs the GOP Main Street Caucus.

"I’ll take it anywhere I can get it. We’re working to get it," said
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). "This should be a bipartisan permitting
reform bill."

Democrats have seized on Wednesday night comments made by former
President Trump, who told CNN's Kaitlan Collins during a town hall: "I
say to the Republicans out there – congressmen, senators – if they
don’t give you massive cuts, you’re going to have to do a default."

According to Trump, while he doesn't think a default is likely, "it’s
better than what we’re doing right now because we’re spending money
like drunken sailors," adding that the effects of a default might not
be as disastrous as everyone expects, suggesting "it’s really
psychological more than anything else," and adding "maybe it’s, you
have a bad week or a bad day."

    "We might as well do it now" -- Trump endorses a US debt default
pic.twitter.com/l81cW3bwH9
    — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 11, 2023

"It was dangerous and irresponsible that former President Trump last
night said, casually, ‘Eh, just go ahead and default.’" said Sen.
Chris Coons (D-DE) in a statement to NBC News.

    Pressed about Trump’s comments encouraging default, McCarthy
quickly pivoted Thursday to attacking Biden and repeatedly made the
case that House Republicans are the only ones in Washington who have
passed legislation to raise the debt ceiling. The McCarthy package
would raise the federal borrowing limit by $1.5 trillion or through
March, whichever comes first, but it would roll back key pieces of
Biden's agenda. -NBC News

"I’ve watched President Biden not want a deal and want default,"
McCarthy told reporters on Thursday - attacking Democrats over the
impasse, saying that House Republicans are "the only ones who’ve
raised the debt limit."

According to the Treasury Department, the country will default on its
debt as soon as June 1 unless the borrowing limit is raised.


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