(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . What Should We Do Amid Debt Ceiling Concerns? [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-28 I have to admit, I have no idea what I should do, if anything, as our country barrels toward a possible financial crisis due to the Republican Party’s attempt to hold the Biden administration hostage over the debt ceiling. This week Republicans in the House barely – by a 217-215 vote – passed a bill that would raise the debt ceiling while making major spending cuts to key Democratic priorities. Democrats are vehemently opposed to the bill, and it’s not expected to pass in the Senate. President Joe Biden’s position all along has been Congress should pass a clean debt ceiling bill and then address their spending concerns during the budgetary process. The debt ceiling needs to be raised so the country can pay its existing debt. This isn’t new spending. This isn’t a “blank check” for Biden, as some Republicans would have you believe. It’s like a man telling his wife, “Our bills are just too high, so I’m not going to pay them,” instead of paying what they owe and figuring out how to cut expenses. This would be a good place to add that former President Donald Trump added almost $8 trillion to the national debt during his term in office, all while Republicans raised the debt ceiling multiple times with no strings attached. Yes, that’s how hypocritical and stupid the Republican position is. Plus, it’s dangerous. Experts predict an unprecedented fiscal catastrophe if we default on out debt, which would occur later this year. It would knock the United States into a recession that would include millions of lost jobs and big swings in the stock market, as well as shake the global economy, the Washington Post reported. The Congressional Budget Office said the GOP proposal would save the government roughly $4.8 trillion over the next decade. But at what cost? Here are some key points of the bill as reported by the Washington Post: *It would make big cuts in federal spending and repeal Biden’s programs to combat climate change and reduce student debt. Republicans have singled out cuts to federal health care, education, science, and labor programs for the cutting board. *Republicans also want aggressive caps on federal spending, rolling back the budgets for key agencies to 2022 levels and limiting growth to 1 percent annually for the next 10 years. So, this would be just the start of the slashing and the harm it will do to thousands of citizens. For example, more than 10 million people could lose health coverage if the bill was adopted, according to an analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, *It would impose new rules on low-income families receiving federal benefits, including food stamps and Medicaid, requiring them to work longer hours in exchange for help or risk losing aid entirely. In other words, screw the poor and increase our staggering wealth inequality. *It would limit the power of federal agencies to issue regulations on a wide array of industries – which is all part of the GOP’s goal to limit regulations for its big corporate donors and would seem to have nothing to do with the deficit. Also notice what they don’t want: tax increases for the rich and corporations to help reduce the deficit with added revenues and cuts to the military. Got to keep the military-industrial complex happy. Let’s go back to the original question: What should we do as we wait to see how the GOP’s irresponsible game of chicken plays out? We’re all in different boats. For the poor and those living paycheck to paycheck, it could be devastating, with few options at their disposal. For those of us who are fortunate enough to be better off, who have some type of nest egg but who certainly aren’t rich, should we be trying to mitigate the damage to our portfolios or just hope for the best. I don’t know. Several months back I asked a couple of investment people. They had no concrete answers and didn’t seem concerned. I don’t know if their opinions have changed by now. I do know that the House vote dispels the myth of the “good” Republicans. Those who are supposed to be sensible and responsible enough to not push us toward an impending economic disaster. They all went along with the extremist wing of their party on this issue. At this point, there aren’t any we can count on to put country over party. So, who pays? Who pays for our losses? Who pays for the suffering that default will cause? Will this be another case where our elected leaders skate above the damage resulting from their actions? As usual, the sins of are elected officials will be paid for by the rest of us, especially those at the lower end of the economic spectrum. That won’t change until we elect better people to office. This could be just the start of GOP strong-arm tactics. The bill calls for raising the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion and requires another approval vote no later than March 2024. What will the Republicans’ list of demands look like at that point? Democrats have to decide whether to stand up to this blatant blackmail or knuckle under. Here’s hoping they don’t back down. The destruction the GOP can cause if their hostage-taking becomes standard political fare is incalculable. As Rep Jim McGovern, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, said: “This is extortion. You’re saying if we don’t agree to all these draconian cuts, they’re going to hurt people we fight for every day. … That’s an all-time high in recklessness and stupidly.” No argument here, Jim. *** Thank you for reading my post. You can see more of my writing on my blog: Musings of a Nobody. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/28/2166378/-What-Should-We-Do-Amid-Debt-Ceiling-Concerns Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/