Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Mike Whitney — The “Debt Ceiling” Smokescreen

Here comes the Grand Bargain, if Boehner can sell it to the House when the extremists are set on defunding AFA instead.
Readers can see how the media is subtly shifting attention away from defunding Obamacare to negotiations on Social Security and Medicare. The two-party duopoly is using the faux “government shutdown” crisis to set the stage for a “compromise” on slashing vital safety net programs during upcoming debt ceiling negotiations. Obama will use GOP “hostage taking” as the proximate cause for caving in, saying that he had to give ground to prevent a catastrophic default that would have pushed the economy back into recession....
Obama has had his sites on Social Security and Medicare since he took office in 2008. It’s clear now, that he plans to use the cover of the stage-managed debt ceiling crisis to achieve his objective. 
Counterpunch
The “Debt Ceiling” Smokescreen
Mike Whitney

5 comments:

Unknown said...

The issue which has swept down the centuries and will have to be fought sooner or later is…The PEOPLE vs The BANKS – Lord Acton 1875 from http://www.linkedin.com/groups/PEOPLE-vs-BANKS-1328087.S.214645113

googleheim said...

Debt showdown fake because if we actually default nothing happens and MMT exposes the lies ... and they will never be able to use that lie again.. never be able to threaten with pixie dust.

The Rombach Report said...

When the Fed buys Treasury securities via QE, it is functionally the same that as the Treasury not having issued that debt in the first place. That is why $2 trillion of Treasury debt holdings at the Fed should not apply to the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling crisis is a hoax!

Ralph Musgrave said...

Rombach Report,

Quite agree. I made the same point in a letter in the Financial Times a few months ago when I said that the public debt held by the Bank of England might as well be torn up. That so called debt is meaningless. And tearing it up would have no effect on anything real.

googleheim said...

Debt showdown is so fake I hear Hollywood calling.

They will not go past the ceiling for 1 reason only - so no one will know that it doesn't matter.

If everyone knows the truth that the debt ceiling doesn't matter then these bozo politicians cannot use the threat again.

Bring on the debt ceiling ...