The United States; ravaged by years of socialism, is now left broken and bankrupt
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...entatives.html
US debt crisis: Republican budget proposal passed in House of Representatives
- The House of Representatives on Friday night passed a bill designed to end the looming US debt crisis, but amid high level warnings that Congress was "playing with fire", it faced almost certain defeat in the Senate.
- United States has until August 2nd to raise debt limit or default on its debt, causing a shutdown of government as government will not be able to borrow money.
'I stuck my neck out a mile to get an agreement with the president of the United States,' Mr Boehner (L) said, referring to failed negotiations with Mr Obama earlier this month.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Telegraph
Hours after President Barack Obama called for Republicans and Democrats to put party politics aside, the Republican-controlled House scraped through a bill by just eight votes, even though Democrats, who control the Senate, had warned that it was unacceptable and "extremist". John Boehner, the Republican Speaker of the House, gave an impassioned appeal to his colleagues in the House to approve his plan, slamming his fist on the podium several times. "I stuck my neck out a mile to get an agreement with the president of the United States," he said, referring to failed negotiations with Mr Obama earlier this month.
"My colleagues, I can tell you I have worked with the president and the administration since the beginning of this year to avoid being in this spot," he added. "A lot of people in this town can never say yes." With the vote out of the way after two days of high drama, negotiations immediately started on a compromise bill that would be started in the Senate by Democrats and then go back to the House.
It might then pick up enough votes across both parties to pass before Tuesday's deadline to raise the so-called debt ceiling. There is a however real danger that Congress will not meet the deadline set by the US Treasury, which could mean that the US fails to pay its creditors for the first time. The government may also fail to fund state pensions, student loans, military salaries, contracts with businesses and a gamut of routine payments. World leaders have warned of the dire consequences for the global economy of a US default.
There has been dismay at the dysfunction in Washington, with World Bank President Robert Zoellick saying the United States was "playing with fire". "Whatever the logic about the tactics, it's a very dangerous environment," he told a meeting of the Society for International Development. "To be blunt, to have a debt default in the United States would not only be a financial calamity but should be an embarrassment for every American" he said. America's largest foreign creditor, China, has repeatedly urged Washington to protect its dollar investments and its state-run news agency said the US had been "kidnapped" by "dangerously irresponsible" politics.
Fears about the health of America's economy multiplied after an official report showed weaker than expected growth in the second quarter, raising the risk of recession. It was always assumed that after weeks of grandstanding in Washington a debt deal would be reached with a week or so to spare. But even seasoned observers of political theatre on Capitol Hill have been dumbstruck by the failure to find a compromise so far. Even if Washington paid its creditors, the spectacle of devastating political failure would probably unnerve markets and possibly lead to a lowering of its triple-A credit rating.
Mr Boehner has faced a major rebellion by members of the Tea Party wing of his caucus, who were elected vowing not increase taxes or spending. They refused to support his first bill on Thursday night but last night sufficient numbers supported a revised plan, which allowed raising the debt ceiling on a short-term basis but only if future Congresses were required by law to balance the budget. Earlier in the day, the president and Democratic leaders in Congress said that if even if the Boehner plan was approved, they would oppose it.
"There is not going to be any agreement to a short term solution," said Senator Harry Reid, leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate. "The stakes could not be higher, the security of our nation, literally, and every family is at stake here." Speaking earlier at the White House, Mr Obama warned that the country's top credit rating was at risk after leading credit agencies said they were likely to issue a downgrade.
As Ron Paul states, both the Republicans and the Democrats are not being serious - the United States needs real cuts (unlike the United Kingdom) which will balance the budget, that means ending or stripping back social security payments which are expected to eventually take up all of federal spending in a few decades and closing down the U.S. military machine.
The future looks bleak for the United States and the western world, this is what socialism leads to though. When you have government education systems, government run healthcare and so forth - it all ends in tears, just ask Greece. As I wrote in my latest blog;
Quote:
Originally Posted by Myself, the Conservative Blog
Debt default dawns for the U.S. The ongoing crisis in the United States concerning the debt ceiling rambles on, giving me the hope that the Republican Party has, for the moment, finally grown a backbone and is refusing to raise the limit (which isn’t a real limit when you can simply move the goalposts). With no real spending cuts on the horizon from any mainstream Republican though, the deckchairs on the USS America are being moved yet again while across the Pacific Ocean a new, shiny and efficent ship is being built to replace her.
Thoughts? should the U.S. default on its debts and suffer the short term pain, or should the U.S. continue down the road of borrowing more to pay for its unrealistic style of government? (that applies to ourselves aswell).
Who i'm most interested to hear from though, are those supporters of big government on here now that the results are in. Anyone?
