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| Economy |
| Senate must raise debt ceiling above $12T |
| 2009-09-08 |
| The Senate must move legislation to raise the federal debt limit beyond $12.1 trillion by mid-October, a move viewed as necessary despite protests about the record levels of red ink. The move will highlight the nation's record debt, which has been central to Republican attacks against Democratic congressional leaders and President Barack Obama. The year's deficit is expected to hit a record $1.6 trillion. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #14 HHHMMMM, HHHMMMMM, so US$12.0Trilyuhn-plus future US Debt, versus US$14.0Trilyuhn "official" curr US GDP. Clearly nuthin says security like Cold War-style Soviet/USSR "write offs" of perennial pervasive super-debt for Amerika. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-09-08 22:14 |
| #13 Who's going to set the new age cut for Social Security. People who don't do the backbreaking jobs that render those who do generally unfit by 65 let alone 70. It'll just be a 3 card Monty game with the cost being moved over to workman's comp or other government program to cover those who didn't have the kind of job that allowed them to make it to 70 healthy. Then watch that grow at an ever increasing number. As a member of the back-breaking labor set allow me to say when my back gives out for physical labor part of my industry, there are alternatives that will allow me to continue to work in a productive manner well into my golden years. My current "retirement" plan is for me to be found slumped over a granite inspection table, a micrometer in one hand and my laptop mouse on the other with the laptop logged in via ssh to rantburg.com. |
| Posted by: badanov 2009-09-08 20:42 |
| #12 Who's going to set the new age cut for Social Security. People who don't do the backbreaking jobs that render those who do generally unfit by 65 let alone 70. It'll just be a 3 card Monty game with the cost being moved over to workman's comp or other government program to cover those who didn't have the kind of job that allowed them to make it to 70 healthy. Then watch that grow at an ever increasing number. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-09-08 20:00 |
| #11 "And wasn't there mention awhile back about taking IRA's and 401K's and placing them into a SS-like fund (so everyone can have equal shares....)" I got a forwarded e-mail about something like that, laying it at the I think that would be a bridge and a half too far, and would get some Congresscritters iced by extremely pissed-off retirees.... |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-09-08 19:38 |
| #10 I too paid into Social Security all of my working life. I hope you made other plans than SS for your old age. Unfortunately I suspect that the Democratic 'solution' to the Social Security bankruptcy is to, once again, take from those who have planned ahead and put money away _other_ than SS and give it to those who didn't (or to illegal alien votes) by making SS benefits 'means tested'. By that I mean those who have worked all their lives, planned ahead and saved outside of the SS system will get much less SS benefits than those who only paid a little (or nothing). Yet another way to 'spread the wealth around'. And wasn't there mention awhile back about taking IRA's and 401K's and placing them into a SS-like fund (so everyone can have equal shares....) |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-09-08 19:25 |
| #9 Must respectfully disagree with number one on remoteman's list about raising the age for Social Security. I hate the whole concept behind Social Security and I wish there was a fair way to make it go away or phase it out or something. But now that I've been paying into it all my life, dammit, I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!! I mean, what if I croak before I get to be 67? Lots of guys do, you know. And then what happens to their money? Too bad. So sad. Eliminate Social Security if you can find a fair way to do it. Get rid of Medicare while you're at it. Just gimme my money and stuff your cradle to grave security. Let me take care of myself. If I can't take care of myself then let me curl up and die. It'd be better than having to have somebody change my diapers. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2009-09-08 18:57 |
| #8 17. Cut 90% of the Dept of Agriculture. Eliminate all Agri subsidies. 18. Eliminate US Africa Command (AFRICOM). 19. End any type of payment to Hamas or the Palestinians. 20. Out-source our Federal Prison system to Mexico. 21. Eliminate NASA and give their mission to the USAF. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-09-08 18:33 |
| #7 Good list remoteman add: 11. Require that states and cities enforce all Immigration laws or no Federal Dollars _whatsoever_. 12 Citizenship requirements for welfare, social security, non-immediate-life-threatening-medical, and just about all social programs. And picture positive ID for voting. 13 End Anchor Babies. If both parents are not here legally - the child doesn't automatically get citizenship. 14 Dump Education. Possibly Labor too. 15 Cut 90% of the EPA. 16 Cut all funding of the United Nations. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-09-08 17:45 |
| #6 The Republicans need to put forth a plan that will reduce federal outlays while driving up revenues. Here are just a few ideas: 1. Raise the eligibility age for social security to 67 and eventually to 70. 2. Suspend all COLA adjustments for 3 years. 3. Do the same as 1 for Medicare. 4. Means test Medicare recipients so that recipients contribute a portion of the cost. It should not be a free system to the user. 5. Eliminate whole federal departments (e.g. Education) 6. Reduce the corporate and capital gains rates 7. Simplify the tax code 8. Modify the health care insurance program for all federal employees so that it is no longer free to the employee and gold-plated. 9. Initiate a massive energy development program within and around the US continent (oil, natural gas, nuclear and green when it can sustain itself without government support. 10. Limit our efforts in both Iraq and Afghanistan. It is time that the government in Iraq stood on its own feet and time for us to realize that the government in A-stan is never going to even have feet. Leave and nuke from orbit if they ever get antsy again. Bottom line, government at all levels has to get smaller, and fast, or we are going to be in very big trouble. |
| Posted by: remoteman 2009-09-08 17:04 |
| #5 When our country loses it's bond rating, this becomes 22 trillion dollars. It was a stupid move to spend so recklessly. No one may ever blame Bush for debt again after this stunt. GOP needs to promise to quash all funding that has not been spent to date unless it is for critical infrastructure improvement. |
| Posted by: newc 2009-09-08 09:46 |
| #4 And our government wonders why (or flat out denies) both liberals and conservatives are attending tea parties. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2009-09-08 09:34 |
| #3 At this debt level, if interest rates hit 9% then ALL current federal revenue would be needed just to service the debt. At the inflation level of the early 1980's 9% interest was well below 'prime', though above most federal borrowing rates. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-09-08 08:39 |
| #2 Basically the whole countries land rent is being extracted for the benefit of bankers, not the American public. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2009-09-08 07:26 |
| #1 $160,000 for every family of 4. Or they average value of the house the average family lives in, which also isn't paid off. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-09-08 06:51 |