By Jim Hoover
I wonder if Barack Obama has the backbone to utilize the 14th Amendment and independently raise the debt ceiling. This should be done – I would say – by Saturday (7/30/2011) at the latest.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the Republican caucus in the House of Representatives has totally lost touch with reality. John Boehner himself seems to have very little control over increasingly radical Republicans, and he is the Speaker of the House, supposedly lording over his majority of 242 members. Currently Democrats occupy 193 seats. 218 Votes is a majority.
Doesn’t it seem inconceivable that the “Orange Man,” John Boehner, can’t even get a combination of Democrats and Republicans, totaling 218 to approve any measure to stop a debt default. He currently (7/28/11) went into recess because he cannot be assured he will get 218 votes for his radicalized, short-term solution of budget cuts only, tied to raising the debt ceiling for a few months, something the Senate says it will not pass and Obama says he will veto.
With economic ignorance rampant among House Republicans and with the seeming incompetence of John Boehner, Obama’s only sane solution seems to be to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling under the 14th Amendment and fight a court battle later. There seems no viable alternative.
Well, yes there is an alternative – default.
For sake of argument, let’s assume that happens.
US Treasury prioritization could pay monthly bills of $172.7 billion and not pay $134 billion for which we have no revenue because without an increase in the debt limit, we cannot borrow the additional $134 billion.
Hypothetically let’s look at what we might pay — creditors who hold our debt, $29 billion worth, Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, defense vendor payments and unemployment benefits, all totaling 172.7 billion. Continuing this line of reasoning, what we couldn’t pay would be military active duty pay, veterans affairs, federal salaries/benefits, Dept of Education, Food/Nutrition Services, Dept of Labor, Dept of Justice, Dept of Energy, Health and Human Services Grants, Federal Highway Admin., EPA, IRS refunds, Small Business Admin., Federal Transit Admin, HUD Programs and other spending. This involves about $134 billion. Economists would tell you to multiply this by 4, which would make a direct hit of about $536 billion to our economy, and this doesn’t even include the impact of much higher interest rates (that $29 billion above could become $100 billion, just for the national debt), related layoffs and small businesses that go under. It is a sure dip into another severe recession.
For any more serious vote in the House of Representatives, John Boehner and his reprobate sidekick, Eric Cantors, need to court Democrats. This they don’t seem to know how to do. Their only proclivity here seems to be alienation.
That they do quite well, and they have brought all Americans into this fold, but in the form of disgust.
Paul
30 Jul 2011Well just who is the blame for this? The evil rich? I don’t think so.
American citizens comprise 5% of the planets population yet we CONSUME over 25% of the planets resources.
We were in fat city following WWII when most of the advanced nations in the world were in ruins, we were easily able to rip off the natural resources in the third world and use them to feed our massive industrial complex, thus sprang the seeds of the American Dream and the Middle Class as we have defined it.
Over time, the third world countries woke up and we have been running a trade deficit with them for decades now. Gradually our working force and manufacturing complex was milked dry in an attempt to fulfill our expectations.
The government has stepped in with pandering politicians who borrow money from China in an effort to sustain our expetations.
Now our store shelves are lined with Asian goods, our garages house Kia Sorentos.
What the hell should we expect?
We have dug ourselves into a hole financially and competitively with the rest of the world and we are in deep shit borrowing money from China which will eventually dry up.
What then ?
C.S.
30 Jul 2011You know, it doesn’t have to be like this. How about an expansion of Medicare and an increase in takes and education spending?
Sie
30 Jul 2011Funny how gnomes and hobbits are the good guys….orcs and trolls are the bad guys. Plus envoking the 14th is unconstitutional actually. not in the way a minority of those who cannot think want him to.
Thomas
30 Jul 2011Arguing that the 14th amendment gives the President the power to unilaterally increase borrowings reveals a gross lack of understanding of the amendment. If the President resorts to that any claims that he’s a “Constitutional Scholar” should be buried once and for all
Victoria
30 Jul 2011Obama’s people already said that they don’t think they have the right to invoke the 14th.
C.S.
30 Jul 2011Looks like the Democratic plan is DOA in the house before it gets there. Intrade puts the odds on a bill passing by Sunday at 1.8%. Not good odds.
The odds on a credit downgrade are 66%by the end of the year.
Sean
30 Jul 2011Weiss, Egan-Jones, and dagong have already downgraded the U.S. debt.
Michael H.
30 Jul 2011Why didn’t the Republican pass a balanced budget amendment when they controlled all of Washington for 6 years? Or for that matter why didn’t they pass one balanced budget. They started with a balanced budget it should have been easy to submit a balanced budget. So why did they double the debt when they ran everything? Seriously?
Sean
30 Jul 2011Actually Michael, check the data. Under Speaker Pelosi President bush ran up $3.6 of is $ 6 trillion debt in her two years controlling Congress. So she ran up half of this debt in her two years while Republicans did the same in 6 years. Not… arguing if its good or bad, just throe=wing you the data. Plus how many balanced budgets have we had in this country ? Now to answer your question they came up 1 vote short in the Senate in 97 under Clinton. And 20 of the 23 Senators that voted for it are still in the Senate. This is one reason Reid will not allow Boehners bill to become law.
Peter
30 Jul 2011Understand, too that any amendment to the Constitution must first pass a 2/3 vote in BOTH the House and Senate, and THEN, it must be ratified by 38 states within 7 years. Anything short of that, and the Constitution is not amended.
What I c…an’t understand is………….Why do they need a Constitutional amendment? Why can’t they simply (or alternatively) do it by simple legislation? I know that would involve the president. But still………The process would be a lot quicker and could be brought up (theoretically) as frequently as Congress wants until it is passed. & It would only require a simple majority in the House and 60 votes in the Senate (presuming all members are present) instead of 66.
You know……What has NOT been brought up in this whole debate over a BBA is WHAT THAT AMENDMENT WOULD SAY. Would it mandate certain tax increases if certain conditions exist? If so, WHAT conditions and what tax increases
Bob
31 Jul 2011If not, he will be the first pres to single handedly destroy america. But I am sure thats his job. He was planted a long time ago. over the last 3 years he has slapped us silly.