Budget Talks Near Collapse as G.O.P. Leader Quits

[w8liftinglady]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/us/politics/24fiscal.html?_r=1

WASHINGTON — Budget talks aimed at clearing the way for a federal debt limit increase teetered near collapse Thursday as Representative Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, abandoned the negotiations and top Republicans said they would not give in to a Democratic push for new revenues as part of a compromise.
The decision by Mr. Cantor, one of two Republicans participating in the talks being led by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., jolted the discussions in what was considered to be a crucial week of bargaining as the Aug. 2 deadline for an increase in federal borrowing authority neared.

While the Virginia lawmaker had previously expressed optimism that the sessions could produce a deal, he announced he would not be attending Thursday’s meeting because Democrats continued to press for part of the more than $2 trillion in savings to come from revenues such as phasing out income tax deductions.

“As it stands, the Democrats continue to insist that any deal must include tax increases,” Mr. Cantor said in a statement. “There is not support in the House for a tax increase, and I don’t believe now is the time to raise taxes in light of our current economic situation. Regardless of the progress that has been made, the tax issue must be resolved before discussions can continue.”

Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, the No. 2 Senate Republican and the party’s only other representative in the talks, said later Thursday that he would also miss the next negotiating session as he and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, turned up the pressure on President Obama to play a larger role in the push for a debt limit deal.

[lilyin]

1. The GOP wants Obama to fail

so they will do everything they can to slow down or stop any economic growth. Sen. Durbin and Sen. Shumer had it right. The GOP is with Limbaugh - they WANT Obama to fail so that 2012 will go to the GOP. Stupid repub voters will vote them into office because they hate Obama too.

[HopeHoops]

4. Sad, but they care more about making Obama fail than they do about the country.

[theophilus]

8. The GOP, and their super rich owners, want Government as we know it

to fail. They want no regulation or oversight for the 1%. They want a return to feudalism. They will kill us all.

[malaise]

2. And they will pay

because everyone knows they want no taxes for the rich while the poor suffer

[arbusto_baboso]

3. "There is not support in the House for a tax increase".

But 81% of Americans support it Mr. Cantor. What happened to "doing the will of the people"? Or does that only count when you've TOLD the American people what to think?

[KansDem]

5. Who is affected by this "tax increase?"

The article doesn't say, however this statement, "We cannot balance the budget solely on the backs of the middle class,” said Representative James E. Clyburn, Democrat of South Carolina, tells me the tax increase would be on those who could afford it, namely "the rich."

[lpbk2713]

6. More obstructionism.

By the Greedy Obstructionist Party.
That is what they are all about.

[DJ13]

7. "Im going to hold my breath until taxes are off the table!"

If the cons want to play this game the Democratic leadership (hello, Obama?) need to impose their own demand that theres no deal without increased taxes.

Tell the people its up to the GOP whether they want a deal or not, explain that the GOP will be responsible for a default because they arent capable of compromise.

[Scuba]

9. Pssst. Cantor. Look over here....

<img src="" title="Hosted by imgur.com" />

[Angry Dragon]

10. The democrats must be poor negotiators

I would tell cantor and kyl to prove that raising taxes on the higher wage earners was a bad thing
They can not, all they can do is say that if taxes are raised then jobs will not be created.
We have had 11 years of lower taxes and jobs are not there.

See me the facts that prove your position and if you can not then you need to change your position.

Part od the promlem is that congress does not feel we are in any wars and so they refuse to pay for them


The Dragon is Angry and it is time to flame

[Johonny]

16. They have done this

Obama told them taxes were higher in many years of the Reagan administration and they said Obama didn't know what he was talking about. So far Dems haven't blinked or looked for a fast compromise even though Republicans aren't negotiating in good faith. Which I think means for once Dems are negotiating well. General feeling is the closer that debt ceiling date is the more pressure Republicans will have to deal. It's their money men that stand to lose without a deal.

[Horse with no Name]

11. The sad truth is--that if 98-99% of the money in this country is NOT taxed

we will fail as a society.

You do not have to have a degree in math to understand this.

1-2% of the money in this country WILL NOT pay the bills.

[Angry Dragon]

17. You are correct

But income tax is not the only tax in this country

Gas tax
excise taxes
sales tax
property tax
cigarette tax

all kinds of taxes that nobody looks at until they are looking
for a new stream of tax revenue

[riderinthestorm]

12. An excellent article "The End Game on the Debt Ceiling"

posted by Derechos

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=439&topic_id=1333218


snip

"While the country will still be left standing after a debt default, there is one important sector that will not be standing: Wall Street. A debt default would almost certainly make all the major banks insolvent as they would have to mark down the value of U.S. government debt, which had been held as a completely safe asset. The loss of value would also apply to all the assets backed by the government, such as the mortgage backed securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Even when the economy revived, the U.S. financial sector would never hold the same place in the world as it does today. Without the ironclad financial backing of the U.S. government standing behind them, the Wall Street gang could never again be the dominant actor in international financial markets.

This fact is essential in understanding the endgame on the debt ceiling. Suppose that we get to the dates in August when the Treasury has reached the limit of its ability to shuffle accounts and literally can no longer pay its bills. Secretary Geithner will at that point make an announcement that in three days there is an X billion payment on Treasury bonds coming due. He will say that the government does not have the money in the bank and will therefore have to miss this payment.

The markets will then go into turmoil. We will see the same sort of plunge in the stock market that we saw when the House voted down the TARP the first time back in September of 2008. At that point, the Wall Street boys will be screaming their heads off at Speaker Boehner and the rest of the Republican leadership. The news media would all be running clips with depression footage, telling us that another Great Depression looms just around the horizon.

In this context the Republicans will do exactly what they did with the TARP. They will cut deals, make the threats and do whatever else is necessary to round up the votes needed to raise the debt ceiling.

When everyone remembers that this is what the endgame looks like, they will realize that there is no need to put essential programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid on the chopping block to get Republican support for raising the debt ceiling. The gun is pointed most directly at Wall Street's head, and this incredibly powerful lobby is not going to let Congress pull the trigger."


Entire article at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dean-baker/the-endgame-on-the-debt-c_b_880531.html?ir=Politics

[gratuitous]

13. This is the Republicans' way of raising taxes

Remember how the Bush-era tax cuts (enacted when we were running annual budget surpluses and didn't have two-plus wars to wage) were supposed to expire at the end of 2010? Our good friends and elected representatives caved in and extended those lower tax rates for another two years. It cost the Democrats quite a lot of enthusiasm from the base, several seats in the Senate, and control of the House. We were p-i-s-t mad, and rightfully so.

Now, it's coming up again. The lower tax rates are supposed to expire, and the Republicans are refusing even to sit down at the table and work out a solution to the "crisis" of the deficit. They know (as do the Democrats and the slightly more with-it members of the popular media) that by doing nothing, we revert automatically to the higher tax rates pre-Bush and his disastrous fiscal policies. This won't completely cure what ails the American economy, but it will have a salutary effect.

And let's face it: With the July 4 holiday coming up, followed hard by the August recess, then the Labor Day interregnum, the Columbus Day Pause, the Thanksgiving Surcease, and the Christmas/New Year's adjournment, there really isn't any time left this year to do anything meaningful anyway. The Democrats would be fools to do anything in the face of Republican indolence, but never underestimate our "leaders" ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Here's hoping their natural inclination to do nothing wins out over the yammering of the nitwits.

[SpiralHawk]

14. Between Quittery and Chickenhawkery

Republicons are a massive disgrace

[SoCalNative]

15. Let them collapse

then the GOP will have to answer for it when people don't get their social security and pension checks.