We have been here before, government shut down, and the debt ceiling looming in a week or two. The democrats say; "Give us a clean 'continuing resolution' and extend the debt ceiling and we will then negotiate". It's like an alcoholic saying; "If you let me have one more drink, then I will finally quit".
I for one am sick of seeing this country spend their way into oblivion - a trillion dollars more every year than we take in, with no end in sight, and every day we get closer to what I believe will be a big crash. I don't know if it will be the stock market crashes, the financial system crashes or hyper-inflation (what if that $50,000 you saved for your child's education would only get them through the first semester?).
So I am going to take a radical position in this blog, and I am sure I will get a lot of comments:
First - We should keep the government shut down until the individual mandate in Obamacare is extended a year (like the employer mandate) so they can work the bugs out. And Congress, the President, the Supreme Court, and all other companies and unions with exemptions must participate in Obamacare like every other ordinary American.
Second - We should let the debt ceiling come and go and refuse to increase it. Some say the government will then "default" - bullshit (pardon me). The monthly interest on the national debt is approximately $20 billion and must be paid, but it is only about 10% of the monthly revenue this country takes in. That leaves 90% of our monthly income to pay the remaining bills. Some experts say this will mean a 10-15% cut in government expenditures and may cause another recession. Another recession? When have we ever left the last one?
A good manager could make this work, every American knows there must be 10-20% fat in our government. Yes this would cause short term pain, primarily for government workers and subcontractors, but at some point the alcoholic has to have a drastic "intervention" or he will die a slow death.
I ran three companies during my career and there were times when a 10-15% cut was necessary, and there was pain, but in every case the company came out healthier and in some cases growth exploded.
The problem with this administration is that even if this scenario were to happen they would play politics instead of thinking of the country . Instead of prioritizing spending they would make it as painful to the American public as possible. As they have done recently by funding PBS (and "big bird") and Planned Parenthood while locking out WWII vets from their memorial, closing the Statue of Liberty and Grand Canyon, and refusing to pay death benefits to military families who lost loved ones fighting in Afghanistan - a disgrace, and one that Obama will never live down. In the military's eyes he and Chuck Hagel are now down there with John Kerry and Jane Fonda.
But I believe that if we face the pain now and work our way through it, the lemmings in this country that blindly follow Obama will finally see what he and his administration have done to our Constitution and way of life.
Let's dig in our heels and not pass this mess on to our children and grandchildren.
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15 comments:
I feel the Military should march down to congress & white house and arrest the whole bunch of these useless SB's and put a 4 star general in charge for a year! The Military are the only ones Americans trust and have respect. There are a lot of guns in the USA owned by people who believe in the 2nd amendment & I think they would agree with the above.
This reads like a 3-martini blog. Surely you weren't sober when you wrote this...? If so, I'm glad you were president of Photosea, not this country. While I of course agree with the issues (need to curb spending, etc.), the tactics you recommend are like trying to save a burning house by letting it burn to the ground.
Actually I haven't had a martini in a week. I am trying to save the burning house with every fire truck, fireman, and water hose available. I guess you would try to try to save the burning house with a squirt gun?
Keeping the government shut down and doubling down by defaulting on our debt -- which will impact not just our own economy but the world economy -- is like using gasoline in your metaphorical firefighting water hoses.
To keep the fire metaphor going: Trying to solve our nation's many problems during a shutdown, with the threat of default just days away, is metaphorically analogous to trying to conduct home repairs while the house is burning. Let's put out the fire first, and then repair the house. Starting with firing the contractors and hiring new ones.
Read my Blog again, there will be no "default" if the ceiling isn't raised unless Obama and his minions choose to do it. The debt service is only 10% of the governments income, leaving 90% to prioritize and run all the essential aspects of government services. I doubt the average citizen would even miss the other 10% which is probably just useless "fat". You need to quit listening to the liberal main stream media.
I always enjoy reading this BLOG, and Mike's responses. Whoever the other Anon is, please don't associate it with me. This is a Nation based on Law, not government by coup d'état; nor is it good government to simply let the economy fail and HOPE the result is better than what we have.
Instead of Conservatives constantly complaining about the current state of affairs they should be developing a workable plan to regain control of the government through the elective process. Right now they seem to be bent on political suicide, and they are achieving that goal admirably.
Jane and I just returned after a week visiting our son in Japan. I came away with two impressions. #1 The Japanese single payer health system is incredibly good at delivering excellent services to the population, while controlling costs; #2 a credit default by the U.S. Government would have a massive effect on the Global economy.
My son works for a major investment banking firm, in the I.T. department. In his role, he works with Traders daily, and to understand the trading process they sent him to schools on trading, etc. He is adept at the process but doesn't have a license to trade. His interfaces with the trading floor, and his training, give him intimate knowledge of what happens at a level that only a professional investor would understand, so he knows what a U.S.Government credit default would mean. Basically, the U.S. dollar is the currency for all global trading, and if the risk increases, or becomes undefined for the U.S. dollar, it effects everything we (as individuals) do, and everything we purchase. A default would result in the near halt of global trades until the "new normal" was understood. Then there would be a significant increase in the premiums associated with international trades of everything in life....from timber, to soy beans, to all basic commodities. It would raise interest rates on homes, businesses, etc. Building new housing would slow or stop, and it would make the last crash look like a minor correction in the U.S. and Global economies. He said that global Traders are watching the situation very carefully and the impact will be immediate. If Chuck is worried about his investments now, he should be trembling in fear about what would happen if the U.S. Government defaults on its debt.
As to Obamacare.....that is a lost battle unless Republicans take control of the Government again through the elective process. They should stop trying to change it by holding the legislative process hostage.
Obamacare is complicated and not optimized BECAUSE it was defined by special interests in BOTH parties, and passed without a through vetting by the Party in power at the time. Had it been developed and passed as a clean bill, it would have been something workable from the start, that could have been improved on over time. I will also remind people that single payer health care was once a REPUBLICAN platform plank, that was sidelined by Democrats. The facts are that it works well in almost every developed nation in the world. It delivers good health care to the masses at an affordable cost, and the wealthy are free to pay for better care if they choose to do so. That statement is supported by health data on infant mortality, average age of general populations, etc., globally. Our health care system is NOT the best in the world and hasn't been for many years. It is the politicization of these general population issues that causes substandard legislation. Just like the fact that the Government cannot seem to create a budget.
As I said prior to the last election.....for the next election we should just vote for anyone that DOESN'T have incumbent next to their name. That is how the American voter makes a clear statement of dissatisfaction.
Missed one point.....
I did read your BLOG carefully and I don't agree that the Administration can just trim some programs and eliminate the credit default problem. Neither does Congress or they would be making that point in the press.
The Republican leadership was counting on pressure applied by using brinksmanship on this issue to persuade the Administration to modify or defund Obamacare. It didn't work, but they obviously felt it was a possibility or they wouldn't have risked so much political Capital on it. The trading markets also don't agree with you or they would not be so concerned.
I believe the issue of Government default is out of the Administrations control, since that point in time is defined by the OMB. At an administrative level you can't just turn money on and off like a faucet. Funds are committed in advance, and as we know, it costs money to turn things off, money that is forever lost from the system, because the "turn-off" money usually produces no tangible benefit.
The bottom line is that Congress should do its job and produce a clean budget, devoid of preconditions, and leave the Obamacare legislative issues for separate initiatives. Tying every damn action to preconditions and unrelated matters is why Government is so dysfunctional.
John - I agree that Congress should produce a budget, but Obama has never presented one (which is constitutionally required by the way).
You and Mike probably have nothing to worry about, I will bet they will kick the can down the road...again, and we will revisit this in six months or so. And don't count on them to "negotiate" a long term solution in the meantime. So the debt will continue to pile up, they will keep kicking the can, and then some day the debt will make the call on when things crash.
[redacted to remove portions that got my previous comment deleted]
All I can do is chuckle when you tell me "to quit listening to the liberal main stream media." You can measure my daily intake of the MSM in minutes, but you're the one who has Fox News going in multiple rooms in your house all day long. If anyone needs an MSM diet, it's you.
Anyway, you're missing the bigger picture. I suppose, seen from a businessman's perspective, it seems an easy problem-solving exercise: not enough money coming in? Just pay the most important bills and make cuts where you need to. But there's a much bigger macro-economic effect in play. If we "default" (or "fake-default" or "not-default" in your mind), it creates huge destabilization in financial markets, job markets, in confidence, in peoples' wallets... the list goes on. There comes a point where your "running a business" analogy falls flat.
I take pride in being your son, but there are times like this, when our ideas and sensibilities are so off-base, that I wonder [REDACTED].
And to beat a dead horse, I want to make clear -- again -- that I wholly share your ideas about trimming the fat, cutting spending, yada yada yada. But I think you are [REDACTED] by recklessly advocating political and financial mayhem and chaos. Especially when so many of your family members (and, let's face it, your own bank account) would take a major beating.
The basic point where our agreement on the issues ends is about tactics: using a government shutdown or a default is not, nor ever should be, an acceptable means of achieving an end. The fact that we disagree on that is what makes me so unhappy and disappointed.
Hi Chuck,
Actually, Obama has presented a budget, the House of Representatives just doesn't like it.
http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/10/news/economy/obama-budget/index.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Overview
It is now up to the House of Representatives to generate the Bill, and pass it through both houses for the President to sign; unless my understanding of the Legislative process is incorrect.
OK Mike and John let's take a different tack since the two of you feel my 'drastic' approach (which you both believe borders on senility) would destroy the US and world economies. Then the two of you give my readers a more logical approach to the financial disaster your (and your children's) generation will be facing.
But here are some facts:
1/ Don't tell me we should vote all the incumbents out, we all know that will never happen. In fact the experts predict little will change in the next election - the House will remain Republican and the Senate Democrat.
2/ The debt is now $17 trillion, and if nothing changes will be close $20 trillion when Obama leaves office. I cannot believe both parties will sit down and negotiate a long term solution that will reverse the debt curve, they have been trying without success for 5 years and leading a "negotiation of compromise" is not in Obama's DNA, plus the philosophical differences are too great - one wants increased taxes with redistribution and the other with lower taxes and a booming economy to correct the problem.
3/ So my point is that nothing will change without a drastic event to trigger it. The sequester took a step in that direction only because they HAD to do it.
So maybe you young experts have the solution, so let's here it. Or, we could all just wait until the economy collapses under insurmountable national debt and unfunded liabilities.
I don't think you are senile, just surrounded by too many people of like mind, so you all tend to reinforce each other rather than engage in critical thought when it comes to the fiscal cliff, or the current Administration. I could be wrong but that is my impression. You have certainly always had your wits about you.
I always throw out the "dump the incumbents" line when I get frustrated. I agree that its also not a very intelligent approach, but term limits are. Get it done in two terms and get out. The Founders never envisioned Congressmen living to be 70/80/90 with re-elected term lengths of 40-50 years. People usually only lived into their 50's then, with some exceptions, and most had "real jobs" like farms and businesses to run, so they went home and worked after Legislative sessions. The same holds true of the "Supremes", who should have term limits or an age limit. But that's another issue.
OK, I agree that the debt is too high, so elect some people who will deal with it. As long as the Republican Party keeps putting up unelectable people for President, and keeps proposing Law that hasn't a snowballs chance in hell of passing, nothing will happen. Those Bozo's need to start legislating and not promoting self-interest.
I'll end with a small joke....."I am not capable of proposing a solution, I am still a registered Republican!"
I forgot one thing, I am not sure all Vets would agree with your comments on the overall treatment of Vets. The VA has been transformed in a positive way since Obama has been President. It took up to two years to get into the system and months to get a claim processed under Bush and Clinton. The hospitals were rundown and the staff underpaid. Those days are gone. I actually get proactive calls from the VA these days....two in the last six months. I asked "why" the last time, and the caller told me they are under a Presidential directive to get the backlog cleared and to streamline the process. The Administration has also been closing VA facilities that serve only a few people (inefficient), and opening new facilities targeted to the new types of combat illnesses and injuries of the past two wars. They have been cleaning up and refurbishing old facilities....the SLC VA Hospital is one, and opening outpatient clinics so Vets in large Metro areas don't have to travel so far for routine care. They are running a massive study program (of which I am a part) called the Million Veteran Program which looks at the general source of illnesses and chronic conditions. That study will also be useful in the general population when it is finished. These are the programs that count for Vets, but they don't give the Sarah Palin's and Glenn Beck's of the world ammunition for critical comment, so the news media doesn't pick them up.
Well I certainly must surround myself with like minded people. Comments have been two to one in favor of my Blog (many comment via email). And I am sure if you knew any of them, you would rethink you "critical thinkers" comment.
Good to know Chuck. One of the great things about this country is that we all have a right to our opinion. When those opinions coalesce into a majority at the polls we have Government. Right now it isn't working very well but I suspect this recent Government fiasco will result in changes come the next election.
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