The Deal: not a “Long-term Solution”

12 Tuesday Oct 2021

Posted by michelinewalker in The Debt Ceiling, The United States

Tags

2006 & 2021, 6 January 2021, Charles Schumer, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Partisanship, Sisyphus, The Debt Ceiling

Persephone supervising Sisyphus in the Underworld, Attic black-figure amphora, c. 530 BC, Staatliche Antikensammlungen
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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“Republicans played a dangerous and risky partisan game, and I am glad that their brinkmanship did not work,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader. “What is needed now is a long-term solution so we don’t go through this risky drama every few months.”

Emily Cochrane, The New York Times, published on 8 October 2021 and updated on 9 October 2021

Debt Ceiling Bill Approved by Senate – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

The Deal: a Stopgap

the “risky drama”
partisanship
6 January 2021

The “risky drama:” Sisyphus

The above quotation is an excerpt from an address by Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer of New York. What could happen in early December is a repetition of last week’s refusal, on the part of the Republicans, to raise the debt limit. What could also happen in December is a repetition of the tempoary stopgap Republicans agreed to. It is a “risky drama” happening “every few months.” Such an endeavour would be Sisyphean, i.e. both futile and absurb (see Absurdism, Wikipedia). Sisyphus would carry the boulder up the hill, but it would fall downhill over and over again. Therefore, the goal is “a long-term solution” to prevent not only a default, the first ever, which would be calamitous, but also to end the perpetuation of debt ceiling crises.

Partisanship

Partisanship has grown to such an extreme that it has blinded certain Republicans. Die-hard Republicans do not view their refusal to raise the debt ceiling as potentially calimitous. They do not see default as harm inflicted on themselves, the citizens of the United States, and a global economy. It seems that all they see is a target they must eliminate: President Joe Biden and his administration. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has stated that they, the Republicans, nearly “defeated” their opponent, but that their leadership, which would be Senator Mitch McConnell and others, failed them. No, Senator Mitch McConnell did not fail Republicans. Senator Mitch McConnell did what he had to do as a representative of the people of the United States. We may suspect that the temporary deal was reluctant governance, but it was governance. The ship was sinking.

“We were on the verge of victory, but we turned that victory into defeat,” Mr. Cruz said in a lengthy speech on the Senate floor, calling it a “strategic mistake by our leadership.” But, he added, “Chuck Schumer won this game of chicken.”

Debt Ceiling Bill Approved by Senate – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

6 January 2021

The deal was a blessing, but it is Sisyphean. It would threaten a currently fragile American democracy. In Mr Trump’s eyes, his defeat was “fake news.” It was news so fake that he is still planning to take over the Presidency of the United States, an attack on democracy. Mr Trump has denied that he incited rowdy supporters to assault the Capitol, but he did invite rowdy supporters to walk down “Pennsylvania Avenue,” which seems Unamerican. Moreover, he “savaged” Senator Mitch McConnell warning that the stopgap was a “terrible deal.”

“Making matters trickier for Republicans, former President Donald J. Trump chimed in on Wednesday to savage Mr. McConnell for “folding to the Democrats,” suggesting that Republicans should instead force a showdown on the debt limit, which economists, business leaders and government officials have said would be disastrous. Less than an hour before a scheduled vote, Mr. Trump again urged Republicans not to vote for ‘this terrible deal.’”

Debt Ceiling Bill Approved by Senate – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Pennsylvania Avenue

Senate Minority Leader **Mitch McConnell** on Monday shared a letter addressed to President Joe Biden that recalled three times the Democrat objected to GOP-driven debt ceiling increases during his time in the U.S. Senate. Above, McConnell walks from the U.S. Senate chamber to his office at the U.S. Capitol on September 30, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (MSN News)

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The Debt Ceiling Crisis of 2006

As Senator, Joe Biden Opposed GOP Debt Ceiling Votes and Mitch McConnell Hasn’t Forgotten (msn.com)

the management of the American economy
a fiscal impediment
flaws in the system

In 2006, the Republicans, Senator Mitch McConnell was No. 2 in George W. Bush‘s administration. The Republicans lacked the two votes that would enable a rise in the debt ceiling. So the United States was engaged in the Iraq War (2003-2011). Future President Obama and senator Joe Biden opposed a rise and have since faced criticism for doing so. If a country cannot pay its debt, one suspects a degree of carelessness. Americans, however, are confronted with a fiscal problem arguably rooted in the Confederates‘ defeat in the American Civil War (1861-1865). President Abraham Lincoln emancipated the slaves (Proclamation 95) and the North (the Union) won the Civil War, not the Confederates. There was a time when slavery was acceptable, but now, the rich often look for tax havens and they oppose social programmes. Therefore, the national pot of gold is not as replete as it could be. Would that the perennial debt ceiling crises always reflected a bad year but, to a certain extent, they also reflect fiscal impediments and flaws in the system.

As Senator, Joe Biden Opposed GOP Debt Ceiling Votes and Mitch McConnell Hasn’t Forgotten (msn.com)

The Debt Ceiling Crisis in 2021

But the year 2021 was a bad year. Twenty years after the United States entered Iraq, the Taliban took over the government of Afghanistan, which led to the rapid and costly evacuation of Afghanistan. Covid-19 and the evacuation of Afghanistan proved extremely costly. So will the debt ceiling crisis: self-inflicted harm.

Finance Executives Say Risk of Default Is Already Damaging the Economy – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Conclusion

I will close by saying that, in the year 2021, there were several assaults on democracy. Last week debtceiling crisis was the epitome of futility and absurdism, but it may not happen again. “What is needed now is a long-term solution…” (Chuck Schumer)

RELATED ARTICLES

The Debt Ceiling Mythified: Sisyplus (6 October 2021)
A Government Shutdown has been averted, but the Debt Ceiling has not been raised (1 October 2021)
Politicking the Welfare of a Nation (28 September 2021)
Mostly Covid-19: the Sleep of Reason (25 September 2021)

Love to everyone 💕

Arnold Shoenberg: Die Eisener Brigade

A Government Shutdown has been averted, but the Debt Ceiling has not been raised

01 Friday Oct 2021

Posted by michelinewalker in The Debt Ceiling, United States

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

an Assault on Democracy, Charles Schumer, debt ceiling crisis, Mitch McConnell, politicking, US Economy

© Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock **Senate Majority Leader** Chuck Schumer walks to the Senate floor following Senate passage of a stopgap funding bill to prevent a government shutdown in the U.S. Capitol Washington, D.C., Sept. 30, 2021.

© Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock **Senate Minority Leader** Mitch McConnell walks into the U.S. Capitol ahead of a vote on a continuing budget resolution in Washington, D.C., Sept. 30, 2021.

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Opinion by Jennifer Rubin (The Washington Post)

“We are supposed to avoid questioning our political opponents’ motives. We are supposed to credit them with loving the United States as much as we do. We are supposed to assume they are patriotic and rational. But what if a high percentage of Republicans care more about destroying a Democratic president than avoiding a debt debacle? What if they care more about conjuring up fear of “tyranny” than protecting the lives of children? What if they care more about returning their cult leader to power than they do preserving the sanctity of elections?”

The above is an excerpt from an article written by journalist Jennifer Rubin and published in the Washington Post on 29 September 2021.

A Funding Stopgap

The Republicans have agreed to fund the government until December.

“The funding stopgap sustains federal agencies’ existing spending until December 3, at which point Congress must adopt another short-term fix, called a continuing resolution, or pass a dozen appropriations bills that fund federal agencies through the 2022 fiscal year.”(The Washington Post)

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that lawmakers should abolish legislation that constitutes a “potential threat of a U.S. default.”

“Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday said lawmakers should abolish the legal limit on how much treasury can borrow to meet the federal government’s payment obligations, pushing lawmakers to eliminate the potential threat of a U.S. default.” (The Washington Post)

“U.S. default this fall would cost 6 million jobs, wipe out $15 trillion in wealth, study says.“ (Washington Post)

Lawmakers should indeed eliminate legislation that can be used to jeopardize the economy of the United States and divide an administration, Republican or Democrat. The Republican Party’s opposal to a rise in the debt ceiling allows a profound erosion of a President’s ability to protect the people of the United States. The campaign is over. Joe Biden is the duly-elected President of the United States, but the Republicans are tying his hands.

The United States cannot default on its debt. So, yesterday’s events seem a game.

Republicans oppose debt limit hike after supporting increases under Trump (washingtonpost.com)←video

What is the debt ceiling and why is Congress arguing over it again? (washingtonpost.com)←video

RELATED ARTICLES

A Government Shutdown has been averted, but the Debt Ceiling has not been raised (1 October 2021)
Politicking the Welfare of a Nation (28 September 2021)
Mostly Covid-19: the Sleep of Reason (25 September 2021)

Politicking the Welfare of a Nation

28 Tuesday Sep 2021

Posted by michelinewalker in The Debt Ceiling, The United States

≈ Comments Off on Politicking the Welfare of a Nation

Tags

Anti-vaxxers, Charles Schumer, D-Day, Destroying President Biden, Division, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Janet Yellen., Republicans politicking, Samuel Barber, Self-harm, The Civil War, the debt, The Debt Ceiling

© J. Scott Applewhite/AP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell returns to the Senate chamber for a vote after attending a bipartisan barbecue luncheon, at the Capitol, Sept. 23, 2021.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services about the FY22 Treasury budget request on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC, U.S., June 23, 2021. Shawn Thew/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo (Pool/Reuters)

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Republicans in Congress are opposing a rise in the debt ceiling, which they cannot do if they care for the citizens of the United States. It has been a terrible year. The Pandemic is costing a fortune; storms have bedevilled the United States and, after the Taliban takeover, the United States chose to leave Afghanistan. The debt has grown.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/09/23/government-shutdown/

Americans do not seem too frightened. In my opinion, they are used to the government rescuing itself. Based on experience, they perhaps feel that Democrats and Republicans will raise the debt ceiling. What if they don’t? They would be acting against their best interest, but it appears that polictiking brings immense pleasure. So, they will do it at the expense of Americans, and at their own expense. Their behaviour ressembles that of anti-vaxxers. Anti-vaxxers are, albeit unknowingly, in the process of destroying themselves.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a Tuesday letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that if the debt ceiling is not raised, “it is uncertain whether we could continue to meet all the nation’s commitments after that date.” (The New York Times, 28 September 2021.)

In the sorry days of Covid-19, glitches are possible. It seems that Republicans want to make United States President Joe Biden look as though he is destroying the United States. Everything he does is criticized. All Presidents make mistakes. They are human beings. If they make mistakes, good presidents apologize and go on to rectify matters, if that is possible.

But not raising the debt ceiling would be a big and largely “intentional” mistake that could affect an entire generation or two and spread abroad. Among Republicans, many have not recovered from the United States’ Civil War. The North won the Civil War (12 April 1861 – 9 May 1865), depriving the South (the Confederacy) of free labour, its slaves. But slavery had to be abolished. Republicans know this. The Civil War, however, happened a relatively short time ago and the past lingers in the mind of those who lost. Plantation owners were royalty. However, although the Civil War divided Americans, there is more to the United States’ mindset than the Civil War. Politicking is a source of pleasure, but the pleasure Republicans seek is greater power, and greater power alone. If they do not allow the government of the United States to raise its debt ceiling, there will ensue a financial debacle that will spare no one, which is nonsensical.

Politicking

In the days of Covid-19, one can expect a death. As well, climate changes are leading to major storms. Hurricanes, floods, and other calamities have plagued the United States. But it is clear that a game is being played aimed to make United States President Joe Biden look as though he is at fault in every instance. All Presidents make mistakes, some more consequential than others. They are human beings. If good presidents make mistakes, they apologize and go on to correct matters, if that is possible. But Joe Biden is not the source of all evil. Republicans use him as scapegoat, revealing a wish to replace him. That is politicking and an offence to the nation.

Great Days

Americans should remember that on 6 June 1944, they landed on the beaches and cliffs of Normandy to liberate Europe. They then marched North and ended the War and thus the persecution of millions of Jews and other “undesirable” populations. Canadians were part of that operation.

Remembering “great days” is inspirational. Republicans have a memory. They and all Americans are proud of Roosevelt‘s gift to an occupied Europe. After the war, Americans also set about rebuilding Europe. Today, the world is being tested by a catastrophic pandemic, climate changes, natural disasters, and other catastrophes. Better years will come, if we promote them. Americans must help themselves. They can and they will.

Love to everyone 💕
Congress must raise the debt ceiling.