Showing posts with label Debt Ceiling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Debt Ceiling. Show all posts
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
March 16, 2006: EVERY DEMOCRAT SENATOR VOTES AGAINST RAISING DEBT CEILING
Direct from the pages of brazen hypocrisy. On March 16, 2006 the debt ceiling was raised by a vote of 52-48 in the United States Senate. Every single Democrat, including Obama,Kerry and Clinton voted AGAINST raising the debt ceiling. I wonder why they support raising it now? I guess it was ok to risk economic calamity when Bush was President. After all, he would've gotten all the blame for it. And hey isn't that what this is all about? Here's a copied tally of the votes:
| YEAs ---52 | ||
| Alexander (R-TN) Allard (R-CO) Allen (R-VA) Bennett (R-UT) Bond (R-MO) Brownback (R-KS) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) Chafee (R-RI) Chambliss (R-GA) Cochran (R-MS) Coleman (R-MN) Collins (R-ME) Cornyn (R-TX) Craig (R-ID) Crapo (R-ID) DeMint (R-SC) DeWine (R-OH) | Dole (R-NC) Domenici (R-NM) Enzi (R-WY) Frist (R-TN) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Hagel (R-NE) Hatch (R-UT) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Kyl (R-AZ) Lott (R-MS) Lugar (R-IN) Martinez (R-FL) McCain (R-AZ) McConnell (R-KY) | Murkowski (R-AK) Roberts (R-KS) Santorum (R-PA) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Smith (R-OR) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (R-PA) Stevens (R-AK) Sununu (R-NH) Talent (R-MO) Thomas (R-WY) Thune (R-SD) Vitter (R-LA) Voinovich (R-OH) Warner (R-VA) |
| NAYs ---48 | ||
| Akaka (D-HI) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Biden (D-DE) Bingaman (D-NM) Boxer (D-CA) Burns (R-MT) Byrd (D-WV) Cantwell (D-WA) Carper (D-DE) Clinton (D-NY) Coburn (R-OK) Conrad (D-ND) Dayton (D-MN) Dodd (D-CT) Dorgan (D-ND) | Durbin (D-IL) Ensign (R-NV) Feingold (D-WI) Feinstein (D-CA) Harkin (D-IA) Inouye (D-HI) Jeffords (I-VT) Johnson (D-SD) Kennedy (D-MA) Kerry (D-MA) Kohl (D-WI) Landrieu (D-LA) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (D-CT) | Lincoln (D-AR) Menendez (D-NJ) Mikulski (D-MD) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Nelson (D-NE) Obama (D-IL) Pryor (D-AR) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Rockefeller (D-WV) Salazar (D-CO) Sarbanes (D-MD) Schumer (D-NY) Stabenow (D-MI) Wyden (D-OR) |
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Republicans Must Not Cave
From: National Review Online
After months of posturing and failed leadership from President Obama and politicians of both parties, the debate on the debt limit is finally coming to a head.
I honestly believe we have reached a moment in history when the fate of our country is at a crossroads.
Down one road is an uncertain future marked by reckless spending that deepens the debt and deficits that are killing jobs and holding American prosperity hostage. The elites and experts tell us we have no choice but to accept the path of higher taxes and new borrowing. And naturally, they prophesize disaster if we don’t continue down the only path the rest of us know America can’t afford.
But this is the same argument we’ve heard before. Trillions of dollars in spending later and trillions more in the hole, it is time to change course and chart a new direction.
The world will not end if Washington learns to control its spending addiction. In fact, if we can find the courage to curb trillions in reckless spending and slow the runaway growth of government, we can send nations around the globe a simple signal: There is a way to avoid a Greece-like day of reckoning. Spend less.
Cut more. And stop making promises government can’t keep.
Politicians in both parties don’t want to hear this. Too many are willing to compromise. Cut another deal. And kick the can down the road to another Congress, another election, and ultimately another generation.
And this is absolutely unacceptable.
As usual, Washington may not know which way to go, but the American people do. They want the brighter future, and they know it won’t come from Washington spending money we don’t have, on wasteful government we don’t need, and can’t afford
Americans don’t want the debt limit raised, period. And they certainly don’t want it raised unless we make absolutely sure that this is the last time. Ever. And that means trillions in real spending reductions, strict spending caps, and a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution.
We want a fiscal policy that instills confidence in the market, and helps our economy grow. And we want leaders with the backbone to make it happen.
That’s why Republicans must not cave.
This is what the election of 2010 was about. We didn’t send conservatives to Washington to flirt with Democrat proposals for higher taxes and more debt. We sent leaders to stop them.
We just can’t cave.
I honestly believe we have reached a moment in history when the fate of our country is at a crossroads.
Down one road is an uncertain future marked by reckless spending that deepens the debt and deficits that are killing jobs and holding American prosperity hostage. The elites and experts tell us we have no choice but to accept the path of higher taxes and new borrowing. And naturally, they prophesize disaster if we don’t continue down the only path the rest of us know America can’t afford.
But this is the same argument we’ve heard before. Trillions of dollars in spending later and trillions more in the hole, it is time to change course and chart a new direction.
The world will not end if Washington learns to control its spending addiction. In fact, if we can find the courage to curb trillions in reckless spending and slow the runaway growth of government, we can send nations around the globe a simple signal: There is a way to avoid a Greece-like day of reckoning. Spend less.
Cut more. And stop making promises government can’t keep.
Politicians in both parties don’t want to hear this. Too many are willing to compromise. Cut another deal. And kick the can down the road to another Congress, another election, and ultimately another generation.
And this is absolutely unacceptable.
As usual, Washington may not know which way to go, but the American people do. They want the brighter future, and they know it won’t come from Washington spending money we don’t have, on wasteful government we don’t need, and can’t afford
Americans don’t want the debt limit raised, period. And they certainly don’t want it raised unless we make absolutely sure that this is the last time. Ever. And that means trillions in real spending reductions, strict spending caps, and a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution.
We want a fiscal policy that instills confidence in the market, and helps our economy grow. And we want leaders with the backbone to make it happen.
That’s why Republicans must not cave.
This is what the election of 2010 was about. We didn’t send conservatives to Washington to flirt with Democrat proposals for higher taxes and more debt. We sent leaders to stop them.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
A Note To Congressional Republicans: Read Our Lips, No New Taxes
So, the political chattering class is aghast that Eric Cantor and Jon Kyl have walked out of the Biden negotiations on the debt ceiling. Unless this is posturing to us the conservative "wingnuts" they have done the right thing. It is at this time I want to remind everyone of a little history.
We all remember George H.W. Bush's "no new tax" pledge. We all remember him breaking the promise. Most objective observers on all sides concede his re election had he not broken that pledge. Why did he break it? Because of our debt and annual deficits. He was conned by the Democrats into believing they would cut spending if he agreed to the tax increases. He agreed and broke his pledge. The tax increases were on the front end of the five year budget he signed off on and the bulk of the proposed spending cuts were on the back end of the five year budget outlay.
The Democrats subsequent to this agreement used Bush's broken pledge to defeat him and elect Bill Clinton. They succeeded and then promptly reneged on the spending cuts. Game.Set.Match.SUCKER!!!!!!!!
The prospect of some kind of tax increase in any agreement has been looming for a while. Personally, I'm of the belief that every budget approved is littered however marginally with tax increases or fees so in the end most members have voted for increases even if nominal in size. The statement today by Max Baucus that there must be a one to one ratio on cuts and tax increases is blatantly political at the expense of potential fiscal insolvency. It's dramatically less than the unappealing "Deficit Commission" that proposed a 3-1 cut to increase ratio.
I am absolutely confident that Congressional Republicans will not vote for this absurd proposition. Boehner is correct that they don't have the votes. Even if I thought Boehner was sympathetic to the proposal it would be his end politically. Moreover, Democrats would do to any tax increasing Republicans what they did to Bush 41 and use it to defeat them in 2012 as a wedge to get back the majority. Does anyone think they would follow through on the promised spending cuts if they reemerged in the majority after running against pledge breaking Republicans? No cuts and more spending. One more giant step into oblivion.
The stakes are too high to get weak kneed in the wake of partisan Presidential politics. Obama is betting he get enough squishy Repubs who don't want to be blamed for a "default" will cave as the pressure mounts. Wait and see, but I've got a feeling they all know they're being played for sucker. Obama is playing with fire and we must keep our guys' feet to the fire. We can win this on the merits and achieve a public relations victory if we have the courage now as George Bush did not over twenty years ago. No new taxes.Not now.Not in a recession.Not when investors are afraid to invest.Not when the American people are willing to scale back Big Brother. To Congressional Republicans: Read our Lips, No New Taxes.
We all remember George H.W. Bush's "no new tax" pledge. We all remember him breaking the promise. Most objective observers on all sides concede his re election had he not broken that pledge. Why did he break it? Because of our debt and annual deficits. He was conned by the Democrats into believing they would cut spending if he agreed to the tax increases. He agreed and broke his pledge. The tax increases were on the front end of the five year budget he signed off on and the bulk of the proposed spending cuts were on the back end of the five year budget outlay.
The Democrats subsequent to this agreement used Bush's broken pledge to defeat him and elect Bill Clinton. They succeeded and then promptly reneged on the spending cuts. Game.Set.Match.SUCKER!!!!!!!!
The prospect of some kind of tax increase in any agreement has been looming for a while. Personally, I'm of the belief that every budget approved is littered however marginally with tax increases or fees so in the end most members have voted for increases even if nominal in size. The statement today by Max Baucus that there must be a one to one ratio on cuts and tax increases is blatantly political at the expense of potential fiscal insolvency. It's dramatically less than the unappealing "Deficit Commission" that proposed a 3-1 cut to increase ratio.
I am absolutely confident that Congressional Republicans will not vote for this absurd proposition. Boehner is correct that they don't have the votes. Even if I thought Boehner was sympathetic to the proposal it would be his end politically. Moreover, Democrats would do to any tax increasing Republicans what they did to Bush 41 and use it to defeat them in 2012 as a wedge to get back the majority. Does anyone think they would follow through on the promised spending cuts if they reemerged in the majority after running against pledge breaking Republicans? No cuts and more spending. One more giant step into oblivion.
The stakes are too high to get weak kneed in the wake of partisan Presidential politics. Obama is betting he get enough squishy Repubs who don't want to be blamed for a "default" will cave as the pressure mounts. Wait and see, but I've got a feeling they all know they're being played for sucker. Obama is playing with fire and we must keep our guys' feet to the fire. We can win this on the merits and achieve a public relations victory if we have the courage now as George Bush did not over twenty years ago. No new taxes.Not now.Not in a recession.Not when investors are afraid to invest.Not when the American people are willing to scale back Big Brother. To Congressional Republicans: Read our Lips, No New Taxes.
Monday, May 16, 2011
We Hit the Debt Limit Today: The World Did Not End
So, we hit the wall today and the world as we know it has changed forever. We hit the debt limit. And didn't approve a debt limit increase. Looks like the doom and gloomers were right. We surely will default.
What's that you say? We didn't default like President Obama said we would? Really? But everyone was so sure of our imminent collapse if those irresponsible House Republicans hadn't acted.
You mean to tell me that the only way to go into default is if President Obama were to instruct Treasury Secretary Geithner not to pay our debt? So, it wasn't urgent to pass an increase? Do you mean to tell me that our illustrious leader was being "disingenuous" about our debt?
Wow, I guess you can't believe everything you hear. Even from the "MESSIAH".
What's that you say? We didn't default like President Obama said we would? Really? But everyone was so sure of our imminent collapse if those irresponsible House Republicans hadn't acted.
You mean to tell me that the only way to go into default is if President Obama were to instruct Treasury Secretary Geithner not to pay our debt? So, it wasn't urgent to pass an increase? Do you mean to tell me that our illustrious leader was being "disingenuous" about our debt?
Wow, I guess you can't believe everything you hear. Even from the "MESSIAH".
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Editorial: Americans Have Hit The Ceiling Over Debt
From: Investors.com
National Debt: Ben Bernanke and Timothy Geithner say the sky will fall if the debt ceiling isn't raised on Monday. The American people say: Cut the Chicken Little spending.
Fed Chairman Bernanke warned on Thursday of "extremely dire consequences" if Congress did not raise the debt ceiling by Monday, and claimed "using the debt limit as a bargaining chip" to reduce government spending "is quite risky."
In the same alarmist vein, Treasury Secretary Geithner used the release of the Social Security and Medicare Trustee reports Friday to warn Congress "to move as quickly as possible, so that all Americans will remain confident that the United States will meet all of its obligations," including "our commitments to our seniors."
National Debt: Ben Bernanke and Timothy Geithner say the sky will fall if the debt ceiling isn't raised on Monday. The American people say: Cut the Chicken Little spending.
Fed Chairman Bernanke warned on Thursday of "extremely dire consequences" if Congress did not raise the debt ceiling by Monday, and claimed "using the debt limit as a bargaining chip" to reduce government spending "is quite risky."
In the same alarmist vein, Treasury Secretary Geithner used the release of the Social Security and Medicare Trustee reports Friday to warn Congress "to move as quickly as possible, so that all Americans will remain confident that the United States will meet all of its obligations," including "our commitments to our seniors."
Friday, May 13, 2011
The American Public Opposes a Debt-Ceiling Hike
From: Commentary Magazine
The results of a new Gallup Poll will cause heartburn for the Obama administration. By a margin of 47 percent to 19 percent, Americans say they would want their member of Congress to vote against raising the U.S. debt ceiling (34 percent don’t know enough to say).
By party affiliation, Republicans oppose raising the debt ceiling by 70 percent to 8 percent. Independents oppose it by 46 percent to 15 percent. And by only 33 percent to 26 percent do Democrats favor raising the ceiling .
In addition, Gallup reports, Americans are more likely to oppose than favor raising the debt ceiling, regardless of how closely they are following the news about the issue. Among the 23 percent who are following the debt-ceiling discussion very closely, 62 percent are opposed and 25 percent are in favor of raising the current ceiling. Among those who are following the issue less closely, opposition outnumbers support by at least a 2-to-1 margin.
Earlier this year The Hill reported that only 27 percent of Americans want to raise the debt ceiling while 62 percent oppose it.
The results of a new Gallup Poll will cause heartburn for the Obama administration. By a margin of 47 percent to 19 percent, Americans say they would want their member of Congress to vote against raising the U.S. debt ceiling (34 percent don’t know enough to say).
By party affiliation, Republicans oppose raising the debt ceiling by 70 percent to 8 percent. Independents oppose it by 46 percent to 15 percent. And by only 33 percent to 26 percent do Democrats favor raising the ceiling .
In addition, Gallup reports, Americans are more likely to oppose than favor raising the debt ceiling, regardless of how closely they are following the news about the issue. Among the 23 percent who are following the debt-ceiling discussion very closely, 62 percent are opposed and 25 percent are in favor of raising the current ceiling. Among those who are following the issue less closely, opposition outnumbers support by at least a 2-to-1 margin.
Earlier this year The Hill reported that only 27 percent of Americans want to raise the debt ceiling while 62 percent oppose it.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Doomsday on debt?
From: NYPOST.com
Some of the best minds on Wall Street are obsessing about the theoretical chance that the country might default on its debt if Congress and the president somehow fail to reach an agreement and raise the so-called debt ceiling.
Now, there's plenty to worry about when it comes to the economy -- from rising gas prices and the threat of inflation to the ever-looming possibility that the anemic recovery might peter out.
Make no mistake, default would be terrible. It wouldn't just make us a basket case like Greece or Portugal; it would probably lead to a global financial collapse that would make the 2008 crisis seem trivial.
But no serious politician in either party is talking about letting the country default on its debt -- even if they don't reach an agreement on raising the debt ceiling by mid-May, when our borrowing will hit the current limit.
Some of the best minds on Wall Street are obsessing about the theoretical chance that the country might default on its debt if Congress and the president somehow fail to reach an agreement and raise the so-called debt ceiling.
Now, there's plenty to worry about when it comes to the economy -- from rising gas prices and the threat of inflation to the ever-looming possibility that the anemic recovery might peter out.
Make no mistake, default would be terrible. It wouldn't just make us a basket case like Greece or Portugal; it would probably lead to a global financial collapse that would make the 2008 crisis seem trivial.
But no serious politician in either party is talking about letting the country default on its debt -- even if they don't reach an agreement on raising the debt ceiling by mid-May, when our borrowing will hit the current limit.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Don’t raise the debt ceiling
From: National Review Online
Our Cornerite, Veronique de Rugy, in a terrific Washington Times op-ed co-authored with Jason Fichtner last month, convincingly made the same point:
Senator Pat Toomey has an important op-ed today at Real Clear Politics (see the NRO web briefing), pointing out that refusing to raise the already gargantuan debt ceiling would not cause a catastrophic U.S. default. Such a default could only be caused by the reckless Obama administration’s fear-mongering treasury secretary. Sen. Toomey writes:
On last Sunday morning’s talk shows, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner once again implied that, if the debt limit is not promptly raised, the United States will default on its debt and the resulting catastrophe will be the fault of congressional Republicans.
But Secretary Geithner knows that congressional delay in raising the debt limit will in no way cause a default on our national debt. If Congress refuses to raise the debt ceiling, the federal government will still have more than enough money to fully service our debt. Next year, about 7 percent of all projected federal government expenditures will go to interest on our debt. Tax revenue is projected to cover at least 70 percent of all government expenditures. So, under any circumstances, there will be plenty of money to pay our creditors.
Moreover, as the Congressional Research Service has noted, the Treasury secretary himself has the discretion to decide which bills to pay first in the event that a cash flow shortage occurs. Thus, it is he who would have to consciously, and needlessly, choose to default on our debt if the debt ceiling is not promptly raised upon reaching it. It takes a lot of chutzpah to preemptively blame congressional Republicans for a default only he could cause.
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