Tick, tick. August 2nd is the Debt Limit Armageddon. Or Not.

In other words.. mathematics is trivial and you can't provide any.

As for it being pedantic to want the numbers to add up. Really? That's your argument? WTF... I might be pedantic but so is anyone that ever has balanced a checkbook. Which I guess makes you an idiot.

I am curious george.

parados wrote:

I am curious george.

That's hilarious - a second ago I made a post on Wandel's evolution thread saying that the chimpanzee has been reclassified in the genus homo and is now known as "homo troglodytes", based on his DNA, much closer to ours than many of the previous "homo" types. But plain leftist troglodytes don't qualify

July 25, 2011 10:00 AM
Refusing to take ‘yes’ for an answer

On Friday afternoon, after House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) abandoned debt-reduction talks with the White House, President Obama held a press conference and raised a compelling point:

“I think that one of the questions that the Republican Party is going to have to ask itself is, can they say yes to anything? Can they say yes to anything?”

The answer may very well be, “No, they can’t.”

I’m trying to remember all of the various offers Republicans have turned down over the last several months. They started from the sensible position that the debt ceiling must be raised, and then proceeded to turn down every viable alternative.

* Democrats asked Republicans to pass a clean bill, just as GOP leaders had supported many times in the past. Republicans said, “No.”

* Democrats invited Republicans to Biden-led bipartisan talks. Republicans quit.

* Democrats offered a $2.4 trillion debt-reduction package, 83% of which would come from spending cuts. Republicans said, “No.”

* Democrats sought a Grand Bargain, with more than $4 trillion in savings. Republicans said, “No.”

* Several Democrats offered some preliminary support for the “Gang of Six” blueprint. Republicans said, “No.”

* Many more Democrats signaled support for the McConnell/Reid “Plan B.” Republicans said, “No.”

Is it me, or is there a pattern to all of this?

Late yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced his support for a yet another approach that would meet all of the GOP demands: it would (1) include about $2.7 trillion in debt reduction; (2) bring in nothing in the way of new revenue; and (3) require only one debt-ceiling increase this Congress, just as GOP leaders requested.

By all indications, Republicans will reject Reid’s latest offer, too.

Which brings us back to the president’s question: “Can they say yes to anything?”

Harry Reid Calls House Republicans’ Bluff

By Matthew Yglesias on Jul 25, 2011 at 9:59 am

Something you often see in negotiations is a mismatch between one side’s stated sticking points and its real sticking points. In the debate over the debt ceiling, for example, Republicans have sought to portray themselves as having two bottom lines. One is that any increase in the debt ceiling must be met dollar-for-dollar with spending cuts. The other is that no revenue increases can be part of the deal. What Harry Reid did yesterday was essentially call the GOP’s bluff by outlining a plan that raises the debt ceiling by $2.7 trillion and includes $2.7 trillion in spending cuts, a healthy share of which comes from winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Republicans are rejecting this even though it nominally meets their demands. Why? Because it doesn’t achieve either of their two real objectives. In particular, the plan doesn’t cut Medicare, which means that Democratic party candidates for office in November 2012 and 2014 can accurately remind voters of the content of the Republican budget plan. In case you forgot, this plans repeals Medicare. Having repealed Medicare, it then gives seniors vouchers to purchase more expensive private health insurance. And having replaced Medicare with a voucher system, it then ensures that the vouchers will grow steadily stingier over time. It was only after voting for this plan that Republicans seem to have realized that repealing Medicare is unpopular. Since that time, they’ve been trying to entrap Democrats into reaching some kind of Medicare détente with them, which would immunize them from criticism. Reid’s plan doesn’t do that.

Second, while Reid’s plan doesn’t raise taxes, it also doesn’t take tax increases off the table. Currently, the Bush tax cuts are scheduled to expire in 2012. If Reid’s all-cuts plan passes, that still leaves the door open to significant revenue increases. Now that doesn’t mean this is brilliant 11-dimensional chess. The Reid Plan is consistent with substantial revenues coming online in 2012, but that will only happen if President Obama and Senate Democrats stand firm and play hardball on the tax issue. Back in December 2010, they utterly failed to do so.

Poll: Debt ceiling deal should include cuts and tax increases
By: CNN's Rebecca Stewart

(CNN)-As the debt ceiling clock ticks down, a new poll indicates that more Americans favor a balanced approach to reaching a deal resolving the nation's budget deficit.

According to a CBS News Poll released Monday, 66 percent of Americans say an agreement to raise the amount of money the nation can borrow should include both spending cuts and tax increases.

The concept that our debt 'crisis' is somehow due to new spending by Obama is a complete and total joke.

Cycloptichorn

I do not believe that's the issue, because most Americans want this problem resolved by both spending cuts and tax increases. According to most recent polls, anywhoo.

They have recovered quickly from the recession: we have not, and the idiotic policies pursued by this administration are the cause.

Perhaps the explanation is that your own interpretation of events is incorrect. The markets are certainly discouraged by the stalemate, but very likely also encouraged by the Republican resistance to the feckless spending of the current administration and its evident intention of creating a European style regulated welfare state here.