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Obama, ‘Republicans Will Not Collect a Ransom in Exchange for Not Crashing the Economy.’
Here is the video:
President Obama delivered a strong message to House Republicans today. Obama said, ‘Republicans will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing our economy.’
The president listed the consequences of Republicans not deciding to pay our bills, including no Social Security checks, no veterans’ benefits, no pay for troops. He said,”Republicans will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing our economy.” Obama added later that, “The full faith and credit of the United States is not a bargaining chip.” The president said the United States pays our bills. Obama called the Republican flirtation with not raising the debt ceiling and defaulting absurd. The president used Speaker Boehner’s own 2011 quote about not raising the debt ceiling being a financial disaster against him, “That would be a financial disaster, not only for us, but for the worldwide economy.”
Chuck Todd asked the president if he was considering using executive action on the debt ceiling. The president answered, “The issue is whether or not America pays its bills. We are not a deadbeat nation. There is a very simple solution to this.” Obama then said Congress needs to authorize a raise of the debt ceiling. He said Congress authorizes spending. They have the spending power, so he is required by law in order to pay these bills.” The president said that Congress can’t tell him to spend X, but then deny him the ability to do so by not raising the debt ceiling. He said the way around this is for Congress to authorize him to pay for the spending that they have already authorized.
The president said that Congress can’t meet their own criteria for a spending cut dollar for dollar debt ceiling hike without slashing Medicare, Medicaid, and the defense budget. Obama said he will not have a negotiation on the debt with a gun at the head of the American people. The president said, “That is not how this has historically been done. It is not how it is going to be done this time.”
Obama made it clear that this fight is all about whether the United States of America is going to pay its bills. The president spent the press conference owning the message that people need to meet their obligations and pay their bills. After this press conference this morning, House Republicans seriously need to rethink their strategy of holding the nation hostage on the debt ceiling.
Instead of budging, President Obama is digging in for a serious battle. House Republicans are in way over their heads already, and they are fighting a battle that they have already lost.
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4 Responses to Obama, ‘Republicans Will Not Collect a Ransom in Exchange for Not Crashing the Economy.’
Yogi29073
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 1:56 pm
Although the GOP got us into this mess in the first place, there are those newly elected who have no problem in allowing America to default on its dept. A leading voice in this “no compromise” is this new senator from Texas by the name of Cruz. He has made it undeniably clear that he will not budge on the idea of getting spending concessions in order to raise the debt ceiling and there will be no compromise on that position. If the president wants the ceiling to go up, then the president has to present to the GOP exactly what he is going to cut, dollar for dollar, in order to get the ceiling lifted. In other words, he doesn’t give a rats ass about the world economy or the faith and credit of the United States dollar. He only believes in the Tea Party idea of shrinking government at any cost and was elected on that premise. He is not alone in this destructive Tea Party ideal and has been seen as a very influential member of the senate, even though he has just been elected.
It is not a far fetched idea that this country could crash the world economy if it defaulted on its debt. China holds about 7 or 8 hundred billion dollars worth of our T-Bills, and if the GOP decides to default on our payments, then China will dump the T-Bills on the open market, and the dollar will shrink and could lose its benchmark status as a value that the world uses to measure it’s currency and economy on.
This is what President Obama is talking about when he says he won’t have the GOP put a gun to his head. If the GOP decides to play chicken with the financial stability of the world economy for some stupid ideology, we will never recover as they world economic engine, and we can thank the GOP for this disaster.
It is very possible that this can happen.
RMuse
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 2:53 pm
The President should know that, like all recidivist criminals, the GOP cannot break the kidnap/ransom/hostage habit. The reality this time is there are Republicans, many of them, willing to just let the country default to “see what happens” or to show their constituents they’ll take any step to stop the President. Scary times.
buckeyewill
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 4:54 pm
They say they believe in “moral values”.
Yeah, right.
RailroadMike
Jan. 14th, 2013 at 10:40 pm
I bet in 1776 somebody in back of the crowd would be shouting “Get a rope” for destroying our country and putting our country a risk of a deppression.