U.S. Officially Hits Debt Ceiling - Geithner

[Hissyspit]

Source: Washington Post

U.S. officially hits debt ceiling

By Felicia Sonmez, Published: MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 6:07 PM ET

As promised, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday night formally notified Congress that the United States has reached its $16.4 trillion debt ceiling.

In a letter to lawmakers, Geithner wrote that the government will take extraordinary measures to extend the deadline until Feb. 28, 2013.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2012/12/31/u-s-officially-hits-debt-ceiling

[Downwinder]

1. Does that mean no checks this week?

[Wolf Frankula]

2. No, that means we print money and pay in cash

"The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned"

From the Fourteenth amendment to the Constitution.


Wolf

[Igel]

13. No, it means they raid every account that has cash in it and use that.

They, if wise, postpone expensing things and let them run things on account until they're actually due, and they'd even try to curtail spending as much as possible.

Last time Geithner played politics. There were tax revenues due that would easily cover things by the end of the month. There was the need to pull money out of the cash funds for Social Security for the payment at the beginning of the next month. And there was a mandatory interest payment on government debt coming due a week or two before the end of the month.

It would be easy to keep the cash, pay the debt, let the tax revenue come in to cover Social Security. That would give the government a few more weeks.

Geithner sequenced it otherwise: Pull all the cash for Social Security. Announce that there wasn't cash to pay the government debt. It was a rigged crisis--it would have happened a month later, anyway. It forced a settlement, a conclusion to the crisis.

And that glorious solution was the Budget Control Act. Colloquially known as "the fiscal cliff."

I don't know that the 14th amendment covers Social Security. It certainly doesn't cover salaries or other contracts. There are two kinds of "public debt"--that owned by the public and that owned by other US government agencies. The amendment's examples are only the former, and the intragovernmental debt was trivial and not at issue when the 14th amendment was passed.

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. "The validity of the public debt of the United States.... shall not be questioned

no matter how much fiat money we print"

[Downwinder]

16. I'm not sure what that means. Does that mean

that I cannot attach the Federal Courthouse if I don't get a SS check? I was looking forward to getting some of the woodwork and paneling out of the fifth circuit building in NOLA. It is impressive.

[Downwinder]

3. The way SS is set up, the debt has to keep increasing.

[JVS]

6. Couldn't SS disburse all surplus to the recipients?

[Downwinder]

12. I think that statutorily any surplus must be invested in US Bonds.

[Igel]

14. Special-issue treasury notes.

There's a few different types, one is for Social Security.

It's not permitted to sell these to the public.

[Cali_Democrat]

4. Step 1:

Shut down the military. Make the GOP squeal like pigs.

[bloomington-lib]

7. Seems like your brush is as broad as the people you're bitching about.

[NorthCarolina]

8. Pinheads???

Are you Bill O'Rielly?

[AAO]

10. Thanks, sarge.

[JVS]

9. It seems even the suggestion works.

[Cali_Democrat]

11. LOL! No kidding!

[ROBROX]

17. GREAT IDEA TO CUT THE FAT

The DOD is just a giant was of money and time. Why is DOD allowed more than 25% of the budget???


When a more intelligent group is in government the changes required to have a better nation and government will happen.