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Obama Warns Republicans of ‘Catastrophic’ Consequences for Global Economy
President Obama used his weekly address to explain the stakes in the upcoming debt ceiling showdown. He warned the country and Republicans, “(O)ne thing I will not compromise over is whether or not Congress should pay the tab for a bill they’ve already racked up. If Congress refuses to give the United States the ability to pay its bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy could be catastrophic.”
Watch here:
Obama warned Republicans that we can’t afford to allow them to hold raising the debt ceiling hostage, “We still need to do more to put Americans back to work while also putting this country on a path to pay down its debt. And our economy can’t afford more protracted showdowns or manufactured crises along the way. Because even as our businesses created 2 million new jobs last year – including 168,000 new jobs last month – the messy brinksmanship in Congress made business owners more uncertain and consumers less confident.”
The President pointed out that he is addressing the deficit, “We know there’s a path forward. Last year, I signed into law $1.7 trillion in deficit reduction. This week’s action further reduces the deficit by $737 billion, making it one of the largest deficit reduction bills passed by Congress in over a decade. And I’m willing to do more.”
Obama isn’t done reforming the tax code either. He said, “(S)pending cuts must be balanced with more reforms to our tax code. The wealthiest individuals and the biggest corporations shouldn’t be able to take advantage of loopholes and deductions that aren’t available to most Americans.”
The President reminded Americans of the cost we paid last time Republicans used the debt ceiling as a hostage, “(O)ne thing I will not compromise over is whether or not Congress should pay the tab for a bill they’ve already racked up. If Congress refuses to give the United States the ability to pay its bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy could be catastrophic. The last time Congress threatened this course of action, our entire economy suffered for it. Our families and our businesses cannot afford that dangerous game again.”
In other words, fresh off of his victory in raising some revenue to pay off our debt via raising taxes on the wealthiest in the country, Obama is saying he’s not done yet. Loopholes and deductions are next up. If Republicans try to hold the nation’s economy hostage in order to impose their ideology, they will have a steep political price to pay, but then, we will all pay if Republicans refuse to govern like adults.
Speaker John Boehner has promised Republicans he’s going to ask for a dollar in spending cuts (read: cuts to social programs) for every dollar the debt ceiling is raised. The problem for the Speaker is that it looks like the Senate won’t be playing ball with the House this time around.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) took paying the nation’s bills off of the table on Friday, telling Talking Points Memo in a press conference, “I think that risking government shutdown, risking not raising the debt ceiling, is playing with fire. Anyone who wants to come and negotiate, and say ‘we will raise the debt ceiling only if you do A, B, C’ will not have a negotiating partner. And if then they don’t want to raise the debt ceiling, it’ll be on their shoulders. I would bet that they would not go forward with that.”
Senate Republicans have vowed to use the debt ceiling as a negotiating tool again, but if they can’t get some Democrats in the Senate to go along, Republicans will be forced to admit they’re all bluster. Speaking of bluster, while leaving Sandy victims hanging and letting the Violence Against Women Act expire, House Republicans did manage to bring ObamaCare up for its 34 show vote even though they know their repeated attempts to repeal ObamaCare are meaningless and costly.
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14 Responses to Obama Warns Republicans of ‘Catastrophic’ Consequences for Global Economy
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C.
Jan. 5th, 2013 at 11:23 am
Somebody needs to SHOUT at Michele Bachmann for wasting our hard earned tax dollars.
djchefron
Jan. 5th, 2013 at 1:18 pm
Someone needs to talk to old crazy eyes?What can one say to someone who does reside in this thing we call reality.
img24.imageshack.us/img24...
djchefron
Jan. 5th, 2013 at 11:39 am
Global economy?Who cares.we are exceptional.The American Taliban don’t care.I bet if you give the them a geography test on the United States they will fail it.If they truly go down this path there’s only a couple of things that knock some sanity into them.
First, corporate America will turn off the money that they give to them.They will only fund your lunacy to a certain point.And when you start effing with their money there will be hell to pay.Second and this might finally break their grip on the one voting constituency they can count on.Old white people.When those Veteran and social security checks stop coming they will look for someone to blame.My guess it will be congress.
The President has two opportunities to frame this issue.One is the inauguration and the second is the state of the union.No my good friends on the other have a different opinion kumbaya bovine excrement.The President will have to say in plain language that what the rethugs are trying to do is mess with your money.If you don’t want the bill collectors calling, tell your congressman to pay its bills or start planning for the unemployment line.No amount of faux propaganda will change the fact that since congress wont pay its bills then you cant pay bills.
harris stein
Jan. 5th, 2013 at 12:26 pm
President Obama does not give a rodent’s derriere about anything other than his legacy, but despite that, I voted for him twice. The alternatives are unthinkable. This was also Bill Clinton’s problem and I voted for him twice also. At least Bill Clinton knew when to stand up to the hostage taking bullies and when to comprimise for the good of the people. President Obama is clueless.
The republicans in congress have overplyed their hand to the point of irrelevance yet President Obama fails to call their bluff time after time. Instead he sends his lieutenant, Joe Biden to negotiate with Mitch “turtle” McConnell. Then he comes out with irelevant statements like, “I will not negotiate over the debt ceiling.” Why couldn’t he call the republicans bluff in 2010 and 2011? His predessor doubled the debt in 8 years with a tax cut, 2 useless wars, and expansion of medicare that did nothing except make drug companies rich, and all this bankrupted the middle class. The 2008-2009 recession was icing on the cake. The people aren’t stupid. Correct thinking people would have accepted a certain amount of struggle understanding that once the dust settled, life would be better. Instead President Obama palyed into the republicans hand time after time. While his presidency will not go down in history as a failure, he will be seen as a coward.
Elizabeth 44
Jan. 5th, 2013 at 3:50 pm
Mr. Obama is a “coward”, “wimp”, “weak”, and a number of other things people keep accusing him of. But then you look at what he has actually accomplished and you see a different picture. The economy continues to grow slowly, but grow. Job numbers are up, not enough, but up. The House has failed for the 34th time to revoke “Obama care” which is widely popular. The United States’ economy may not be in good shape, but it is recovering from the Bush Global Depression faster than the Eurozone. The problem here is Mr. Obama is not your traditional alpha male, but a community organizer who knows how to get people moving together.
djchefron
Jan. 5th, 2013 at 4:01 pm
I think the reason he did not call out the American Taliban earlier was because he was playing the long game.You have to look how he set them up on taxes and now the debt ceiling.
First on taxes.Yes he did extend the bush taxes but what he go in return was more than if he would have fought to death at that time.
The Myth of the Obama Cave-In
www.motherjones.com/polit...
And taxes did get raised this time and please don’t bring up the 400.000 figure because as I and others have pointed out when adjusted for inflation it comes out roughly the same as the Clinton’s tax rates in 1993[?]
Now for the big enchilada.Raising the debt ceiling.See after this last debacle over taxes,the President did try to call the orange one but guess what boner didn’t pick up the phone
Book details Obama-Boehner blowup on debt deal
content.usatoday.com/comm... So it was McConnell who called Biden not that the President sent him.
I got sidetrack there so here is my take.The President put the sequester off so he can get his tax policy thru so that took that hostage away.If the republicans don’t agree to raise the debt all those cuts to the pentagon kicks in along with cuts to SS and entitlements.As crazy as the rethugs are they will not let the military contractors go without.Wall street will pull the drunk one aside and let him know”you effing with my money now”.
But the real beauty in those so called cave is the President broke their backs over raising income taxes and the Hastert rule which is only a majority of the majority bills get considered has been rendered null and void.
Reynardine
Jan. 5th, 2013 at 12:31 pm
It repeatedly impresses itself on me that the current Republican caucus is motivated less by greed than by malice, and so, too, the wealthy plutocrats behind them. They are Hell-bent on destroying the middle class that has historically driven our economic growth. Why?
GeneralLerong
Jan. 5th, 2013 at 1:37 pm
Because, contrary to popular myth, being rich isn’t the same as being smart.
sherrie heckendorn
Jan. 5th, 2013 at 3:34 pm
I ask that same question. Since it has to be obvious to them what will happen to our country and economy, if they go the austerity route, it begs the question, is this what they want?
jwkjwk
Jan. 5th, 2013 at 10:44 pm
Why?
Just take a look at the high correlation between tea party types in congress and theocratic dominionism.
S J Mayer
Jan. 5th, 2013 at 12:32 pm
The Republicans, and some others, remind me of children that will do anything not to do chores. They either don’t want to do the right thing because it takes effort or they haven’t a clue about what is going on with the country. They only listen to the people who have their ear for personal benefit. It is sad the lack of real knowledge and/or understanding that seems to be displayed by people who have been elected and those who elect them. In all my many years (75) I have never seen such a mess and there are chores to be done as quickly as possible.
Anne
Jan. 5th, 2013 at 12:45 pm
The Congressional Republicans are motivated by BOTH greed AND malice. They want to keep money flowing from their uber wealthy and greedy corporate masters and they also want to continue blocking any progress that would bring credit to the president. They not only don’t care about the countless number of Americans they have hurt and will continue to hurt. They also don’t care about how people in other nations would also be adversely affected. Yet, they are the very same folks who like to have bragging rights about this country’s “exceptionalism,” while they work overtime to undermine all the reasons to be considered exceptional.
Tiffany Lathrop
Jan. 6th, 2013 at 10:59 am
The republican/tea party plan: reduce the economy to rubble; bankrupt the federal government, and then step into the resulting void, pick up the pieces, and then rebuild the country to their specifications, or to their God’s specifications.
Shhhh, don’t tell anyone; it’s supposed to be a secret.
clarence swinney
Jan. 8th, 2013 at 9:02 am
AMERICA IN TROUBLE
WHOSE FAULT? R or D? Or both?
1. Outsourcing industries—R & D
2. Flush Wealth to top 10%–R tax codes
3. Bush 1900B Tax Cuts—43% to top 5%–16% to bottom 60%
4. Bush two war=cost2000B over a decade—ruined our reputation as a caring Christian nation
5. Bush Part D Medicare
6. The Middle Class has been gutted while top 10% own 73% net wealth,, 83% financial wealth-get 43% individual income paid 18% tax rate—25% get 66% income paid 15% tax rate—top 50% got 87% Income paid 12.5% tax rate—70 Million got 13% of the income.
7. Redistribution of Wealth our biggest problem. We must tax wealth to get a balance and pay down debt. It is a sham when we tax 2100 Billion—spend 3500B—and borrow 1400B.
Let the rich off. 14,000B Income cannot pay 3500B budget??? 37Mm tax returns paid 11.06% Tax Rate in 2009. Will we awaken?
8. Repeal Glass Steagall allowed 10 big gambling institutions to buy up 80% of 7000 Banks.