SUBHEAD: The very idea that something substantive is being discussed is an insult to anyone with a functioning brain.
By Jason Linkin on 26 July 2011 for Huffington Post -
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/26/death-to-the-debt-ceiling_n_909738.html)
Image above: Recent scene in White House of debt ceiling negotiations. From (http://www.lightsoutpoker.net/2011/07/how-the-debt-ceiling-negotiations-are-like-poker).
Hello, America. About two weeks ago, I left the United States on a vacation abroad, and when I did so, it was generally assumed that some sort of "deal" or "grand bargain" or "bipartisan dry-hump" might be realized through the ongoing debt-ceiling negotiations. I strove to make my time off as leisurely and internet-free as possible, but like many people, I was pretty invested in this ongoing news story, and checked in each day to learn that there had been no new progress, no agreement and no deal. And now that I'm back, we've seen in the past 24 hours that the impasse on a debt ceiling deal is as insurmountable as ever.
And to that, I say: fantastic! Fie on a "debt ceiling deal!" A pox on "debt ceiling negotiations." Every day without a debt ceiling deal is like a day with sunshine -- or, rather, for heat-submerged East Coasters, it's like a day without sunshine. The failure of President Barack Obama, Speaker John Boehner, Senate leader Harry Reid, and all of the affiliated hangers-on and secondary characters to arrive at some sort agreement to make cuts/add revenue is a great net result for America and for all American citizens. I hope there is never a "debt ceiling deal," and so should you.
Right about now, you may be forming some objections to this. "But, Jason," you may be thinking, "that's just irresponsible to say. Without a debt ceiling deal, we will default on our obligations, and this will touch off a daisy chain of global economic destruction. The only way to prevent that is to hope that all of these people start acting like adults and make a deal." Believe me, I understand your concerns. But they're based on many months of the media, wearing away your capacity for logic with day after day of misallocated journalistic resources.
So, it's time for a little bit of cult deprogramming. The failure to reach a debt ceiling deal will not result in a default. It's the failure to raise the debt ceiling that will do that. And the debt ceiling deal is not the way to ensuring that the debt ceiling gets raised. The ongoing negotiations are the primary impediment to the debt ceiling being raised. The best and most effective way of ending the uncertainty and the worry that economic turmoil is poised to unleash itself at any moment is to immediately call an end to the debt ceiling negotiations.
Let me repeat that: The best and most effective way of ending the uncertainty and the worry that economic turmoil is poised to unleash itself at any moment is to immediately call an end to the debt ceiling negotiations.
(Then, Congress can raise the debt ceiling as it's done hundreds of times in the past already. If you're still confused about how Congress will do this, please click here.)
There is, of course, a side benefit to ending the negotiations: we can stop pretending that they are anything other than a farcical political dumbshow. The very idea that something substantive is being discussed is an insult to anyone with a functioning brain or the means to transform sunlight into energy through photosynthesis. Let's recall that the basic GOP position is that they want massive spending cuts. The basic Democratic position is that those cuts cannot come at the expense of entitlements.
See also: Ea O Ka Aina: Bring it on! 7/17/11 .
By Jason Linkin on 26 July 2011 for Huffington Post -
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/26/death-to-the-debt-ceiling_n_909738.html)
Image above: Recent scene in White House of debt ceiling negotiations. From (http://www.lightsoutpoker.net/2011/07/how-the-debt-ceiling-negotiations-are-like-poker).
Hello, America. About two weeks ago, I left the United States on a vacation abroad, and when I did so, it was generally assumed that some sort of "deal" or "grand bargain" or "bipartisan dry-hump" might be realized through the ongoing debt-ceiling negotiations. I strove to make my time off as leisurely and internet-free as possible, but like many people, I was pretty invested in this ongoing news story, and checked in each day to learn that there had been no new progress, no agreement and no deal. And now that I'm back, we've seen in the past 24 hours that the impasse on a debt ceiling deal is as insurmountable as ever.
And to that, I say: fantastic! Fie on a "debt ceiling deal!" A pox on "debt ceiling negotiations." Every day without a debt ceiling deal is like a day with sunshine -- or, rather, for heat-submerged East Coasters, it's like a day without sunshine. The failure of President Barack Obama, Speaker John Boehner, Senate leader Harry Reid, and all of the affiliated hangers-on and secondary characters to arrive at some sort agreement to make cuts/add revenue is a great net result for America and for all American citizens. I hope there is never a "debt ceiling deal," and so should you.
Right about now, you may be forming some objections to this. "But, Jason," you may be thinking, "that's just irresponsible to say. Without a debt ceiling deal, we will default on our obligations, and this will touch off a daisy chain of global economic destruction. The only way to prevent that is to hope that all of these people start acting like adults and make a deal." Believe me, I understand your concerns. But they're based on many months of the media, wearing away your capacity for logic with day after day of misallocated journalistic resources.
So, it's time for a little bit of cult deprogramming. The failure to reach a debt ceiling deal will not result in a default. It's the failure to raise the debt ceiling that will do that. And the debt ceiling deal is not the way to ensuring that the debt ceiling gets raised. The ongoing negotiations are the primary impediment to the debt ceiling being raised. The best and most effective way of ending the uncertainty and the worry that economic turmoil is poised to unleash itself at any moment is to immediately call an end to the debt ceiling negotiations.
Let me repeat that: The best and most effective way of ending the uncertainty and the worry that economic turmoil is poised to unleash itself at any moment is to immediately call an end to the debt ceiling negotiations.
(Then, Congress can raise the debt ceiling as it's done hundreds of times in the past already. If you're still confused about how Congress will do this, please click here.)
There is, of course, a side benefit to ending the negotiations: we can stop pretending that they are anything other than a farcical political dumbshow. The very idea that something substantive is being discussed is an insult to anyone with a functioning brain or the means to transform sunlight into energy through photosynthesis. Let's recall that the basic GOP position is that they want massive spending cuts. The basic Democratic position is that those cuts cannot come at the expense of entitlements.
See also: Ea O Ka Aina: Bring it on! 7/17/11 .
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