Background: Geithner says the feds will run out of money about May 16. As the government nears the debt ceiling, the Treasury has authority to take certain extraordinary measures to postpone the date the United States would default on its obligations.
Something I like to think of as "Reality Day".
However, those actions would be exhausted after about eight weeks and there would be "no headroom" to borrow after July 8, Geithner said.
Something I like to think of as about two months worth of rope. More than enough to pop your heads clean off your shoulders.
Some lawmakers have called for legislation to force the Treasury to first pay interest on U.S. bonds before other obligations, such as unemployment benefits and Social Security and Medicare payments, as a way to stave off a debt default.
Now why on earth would they need to consider common-sense legislation like that? Unless you're using it as a teaching tool, of course.
They have also asked Treasury whether financial assets such as the country's gold reserves or the government's portfolio of student loans could be sold to avoid raising the debt ceiling.
Why don't we sell off your office buildings, cars, houses, bank accounts, pensions, family heirlooms and photos, healthcare plans, and other belongings first? And your children's as well? Oh, I forgot, that's already been done, we're just waiting for "Reality Day" to make it more apparent to y'all.
Treasury has rejected the proposals as unworkable.
Mind if we take a little peek inside Fort Knox?
"To attempt a fire sale of financial assets in an effort to buy time for Congress to act would be damaging to financial markets and the economy and would undermine confidence in the United States," Geithner said.
Confidence? Oh yeah, that thing we until shortly before W et. al. wrote a $3T+ check for everyone to cash as frosting on the political cake we've been working on for the last 60 years or so.
Based on estimates last year from the International Monetary Fund, U.S. debt as measured against the size of the economy is higher than in France, Canada and Germany, but less than in Italy and Japan
How comforting. So we're stuck somewhere between being able to salvage what's left of our country or watching it sail off the Niagra Falls. Too bad we've got a pilot who acts like momentum and gravity don't apply to what he does.
Geithner said that while the debt ceiling projections could change, the Obama administration does not believe they could change in a way that would give Congress more time to raise the debt ceiling. He said Treasury would provide updated projections in early May.
Those @$$holes just keep doubling down with a losing hand. All I can imagine is that they think that if they can just get the economy working again they can pay off all this debt in a few years. I don't think they understand how debt works, both economically and on people's thinking. Team Obean is both clueless and rudderless. Shut them down and don't bother to check on them until they figure it out and come begging.
The state governments will work just fine until then. Maybe even better. They'll be able to operate without the feds getting in the way of what should be done. Hopefully folks are in for a reawakening of the idea of being a citizen of the state they live in more than being a citizen of some construct that is supposed to be there just to help them work together for the common goal of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.