Boehner a short time ago says the GOP message is clear
BOEHNER: “My message to the White House over the last several months has been real simple: the spending cuts have to be larger than the increase in the debt ceiling. Secondly, there are no tax increases on the table. And thirdly, we have to have real controls in place to make sure this never happens again. Real controls like a Balanced Budget Amendment.
“But the fact is that House Republicans have a plan. We passed our budget back in the spring, outlined our priorities. Where is the president’s plan? When’s he going to lay his cards on the table? This debt limit increase is his problem and I think it’s time for him to lead by putting his plan on the table — something that the Congress can pass”
Just as small governments like cities and counties threaten to cut off pay to firemen, police and rescue, so, too, Obama has JUST announced he cannot guarantee Social Security checks will be cut IF the debt limit is not raised.
Source CBS News.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20078789-503544.html
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell also weighed in:
“The president has presented us with three choices: smoke and mirrors, tax hikes, or default. Republicans choose none of the above.
@Nan G, #2:
Isn’t that statement true? What should he tell Social Security recipients?
Default would have actual consequences for actual people.
What republicans presented this past spring wasn’t so much a plan as their list of demands. They knew it wouldn’t be acceptable. A majority of Americans don’t find it acceptable.
Obama is that guy trying to scare granny into thinking he’s going to push her over the cliff, Greg.
According to the Daily Treasury Statements published by the U.S. Treasury Department, the ongoing flow of federal tax revenue since the Treasury declared that it had hit the debt limit on May 16 has been more than sufficient to cover the combined costs of federal spending on interest payments, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the Veterans Affairs department and federal workers wages and insurance benefits (including wages and insurance benefits for military personnel).
Specifically, according to the Daily Treasury Statements, as of the close of business on May 16, the federal government had taken in $1.333454 trillion in tax revenues since the beginning of fiscal 2011. By the close of business on July 7, tax revenues for fiscal 2011 had grown to $1.629630 trillion. Therefore, between May 16 and July 7 the federal government took in a total of $296.176 billion in new tax revenue.
In that same time period, total interest payments on the national debt equaled $14.632 billion.
Thus, the new tax revenue of $296.176 billion the federal government took in between May 16 and July 7 was enough to pay the federal government’s $14.632 billion in interest obligations during that period 20 times over.
I suppose the treasury could just pay those obligations and let everything else slide for a while, to see what stops working who gets upset about it. It might be instructive
It’s happened before Greg under Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
@Greg:
What he should explain to all Americans, and to Social Security recipients specifically, is where their money is. That money has been paid in over decades of their working lives and was supposed to be set aside in a “lock box” (remember AlGore?).
The money that has been paid into Social Security should be right there in the gov’t coffers just waiting for the checks to be written.
Of course, all of this is really moot because Social Security checks and military pay, etc will continue to be paid.
The gov’t has massive amounts of revenue pouring in each month and there is really no risk of default.
@Greg:
This issue has arisen at least twice before. The sky did not fall.
Well no risk of Default, Aye, unless the Democrats get their way and allocate money that was ment to pay critical asspects of Government for bullplop grants, plans, and side projects that shouldn’t be paid for.
And then the only risk there would be Congressmen ending up being either removed from their Caccauses or flat out impeached/recalled… if the politicans had the backbone.