[C38] America Held Hostage
Anders Finn
anders at finn.ws
Mon May 16 19:30:09 EDT 2011
Everyone,
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Anders
Webmaster
On 05/16/2011 03:34 PM, Patrick Harpole wrote:
> I totally agree.
> Patrick
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* D McC <mailto:cat38skip at yahoo.com>
> *To:* Catalina 38 Listserve <mailto:listserve at catalina38.org>
> *Sent:* Monday, May 16, 2011 2:51 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [C38] America Held Hostage
>
> If this Horse$#!+ keeps showing up, I am out of here.... Keep your
> religion and your politics to yourself !
>
> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
>
> Common Sense is a rare gift from the Gods.
> Most people have only technical training!
>
> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
>
> The gods do not deduct from man's allotted span those hours spent
> in sailing.
>
> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
>
> When in doubt, try the vice You haven't tried before!
>
> --- On *Mon, 5/16/11, Patrick Harpole /<1derful at comcast.net>/* wrote:
>
>
> From: Patrick Harpole <1derful at comcast.net>
> Subject: Re: [C38] America Held Hostage
> To: "Catalina 38 Listserve" <listserve at catalina38.org>
> Date: Monday, May 16, 2011, 2:45 PM
>
> *How did this political statement get on a sailing site?*
> *Blue eyes*
> *San Francisco Bay*
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Don Strong </mc/compose?to=drstrong at ucdavis.edu>
> *To:* Catalina 38 Listserve
> </mc/compose?to=listserve at catalina38.org>
> *Sent:* Monday, May 16, 2011 1:49 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [C38] America Held Hostage
>
> Steve: You are a naughty boy! Don
>
> On 5/16/11 1:39 PM, Steve Smolinske wrote:
>>
>> Can we please limit political discussion on the board to
>> only those that are favorable to the Republican view point?
>>
>> *From:* listserve-bounces at catalina38.org
>> </mc/compose?to=listserve-bounces at catalina38.org>
>> [mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org
>> </mc/compose?to=listserve-bounces at catalina38.org>] *On
>> Behalf Of *Bill Haynes
>> *Sent:* Monday, May 16, 2011 1:32 PM
>> *To:* Catalina 38 Listserve
>> *Subject:* Re: [C38] America Held Hostage
>>
>> Paul, you need to read this column for what Paul Krugman
>> says here is the honest to God truth.
>>
>> Bill
>>
>> May 15, 2011
>>
>> New York Times
>>
>> *America Held Hostage*
>>
>> By PAUL KRUGMAN
>>
>> Six months ago President Obama faced a hostage situation.
>> Republicans threatened to block an extension of
>> middle-class tax cuts unless Mr. Obama gave in and
>> extended tax cuts for the rich too. And the president
>> essentially folded, giving the G.O.P. everything it wanted.
>>
>> Now, predictably, the hostage-takers are back: blackmail
>> worked well last December, so why not try it again? This
>> time House Republicans say they will refuse to raise the
>> debt ceiling — a step that could inflict major economic
>> damage — unless Mr. Obama agrees to large spending cuts,
>> even as they rule out any tax increase whatsoever. And
>> the question becomes what, if anything, will get the
>> president to say no.
>>
>> The debt ceiling itself is a strange feature of U.S. law:
>> since Congress must vote to authorize spending and choose
>> tax rates, why have a second vote on whether to allow the
>> borrowing that these spending and taxation policies
>> imply? In practice, however, legislators have
>> historically been willing to raise the debt ceiling as
>> necessary, so this quirk in our system hasn’t mattered
>> very much — until now.
>>
>> What has changed? The answer is the radicalization of the
>> Republican Party. Normally, a party controlling neither
>> the White House nor the Senate would acknowledge that it
>> isn’t in a position to impose its agenda on the nation.
>> But the modern G.O.P. doesn’t believe in following normal
>> rules.
>>
>> So what will happen if the ceiling isn’t raised? It has
>> become fashionable on the right to assert that it would
>> be no big deal. On Saturday the editorial page of The
>> Wall Street Journal ridiculed those worried about the
>> consequences of hitting the ceiling as the "Armageddon
>> lobby."
>>
>> It’s hard to know whether the "what, us worry?" types
>> believe what they’re saying, or whether they’re just
>> staking out a bargaining position. But in any case,
>> they’re almost surely wrong: seriously bad consequences
>> will follow if the debt ceiling isn’t raised.
>>
>> For if we hit the debt ceiling, the government will be
>> forced to stop paying roughly a third of its bills,
>> because that’s the share of spending currently financed
>> by borrowing. So will it stop sending out Social Security
>> checks? Will it stop paying doctors and hospitals that
>> treat Medicare patients? Will it stop paying the
>> contractors supplying fuel and munitions to our military?
>> Or will it stop paying interest on the debt?
>>
>> Don’t say "none of the above." As I’ve written before,
>> the federal government is basically an insurance company
>> with an army, so I’ve just described all the major
>> components of federal spending. At least one, and
>> probably several, of these components will face payment
>> stoppages if federal borrowing is cut off.
>>
>> And what would such payment stops do to the economy?
>> Nothing good. Consumer spending would probably crash, as
>> nervous seniors started wondering how to pay for rent and
>> food. Businesses that depend on government purchases
>> would slash payrolls and cancel investments.
>>
>> Furthermore, markets might well panic, especially if
>> interest payments are missed. And the consequences of
>> undermining faith in U.S. debt might be especially severe
>> because that debt plays a crucial role in many financial
>> transactions.
>>
>> So hitting the debt ceiling would be a very bad thing.
>> Unfortunately, it may be unavoidable.
>>
>> Why? Because this is a hostage situation. If the
>> president and his allies operate on the principle that
>> failure to raise the debt ceiling is an unthinkable
>> outcome, to be avoided at all cost, then they have ceded
>> all power to those willing to bring that outcome about.
>> In effect, they will have ripped up the Constitution and
>> given control over America’s government to a party that
>> only controls one house of Congress, but claims to be
>> willing to bring down the economy unless it gets what it
>> wants.
>>
>> Now, there are good reasons to believe that the G.O.P.
>> isn’t nearly as willing to burn the house down as it
>> claims. Business interests have made it clear that
>> they’re horrified at the prospect of hitting the debt
>> ceiling. Even the virulently anti-Obama U.S. Chamber of
>> Commerce has urged Congress to raise the ceiling "as
>> expeditiously as possible." And a confrontation over
>> spending would only highlight the fact that Republicans
>> won big last year largely by promising to protect
>> Medicare, then promptly voted to dismantle the program.
>>
>> But the president can’t call the extortionists’ bluff
>> unless he’s willing to confront them, and accept the
>> associated risks.
>>
>> According to Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, Mr.
>> Obama has told Democrats not to draw any "line in the
>> sand" in debt negotiations. Well, count me among those
>> who find this strategy completely baffling. At some point
>> — and sooner rather than later — the president has to
>> draw a line. Otherwise, he might as well move out of the
>> White House, and hand the keys over to the Tea Party.
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>>
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>
> --
> Donald R. Strong
> Professor
> Dept. of Evolution and Ecology
> University of California, Davis 95616
>
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