Updated 4:45 p.m. edt
Congress has reached a partial deal that will allow Federal Aviation Administration inspectors and airport construction workers to get back back on the job, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid announced this afternoon.
"This agreement does not resolve the important differences that still remain. But I believe we should keep Americans working while Congress settles its differences, and this agreement will do exactly that," Reid said in a statement.
The FAA inspectors were furloughed two weeks ago when funding expired without the House and Senate reaching a deal on a bill extending their pay and funding airport construction projects. The impasse was over a House measure that did not fund rural airports.
As part of the deal, the Senate will accept a bill passed by the House that cut $16 million from the Transportation budget for subsidies to rural airports. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will authorize individual waivers to make up for the budget shortfall for rural airports.
"This is a tremendous victory for American workers everywhere. From construction workers to our FAA employees, they will have the security of knowing they are going to go back to work and get a paycheck - and that's what we've been fighting for. We have the best aviation system in the world and we intend to keep it that way," LaHood said in a statement.
Reid will move the bill through the Senate using a procedure called "unanimous consent," which will allow Congress to remain on its five-week vacation without having to return for an up or down vote.
end update
---[
Not everyone is as confident as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that airline safety is not being compromised by furloughed aviation inspectors having to pay their own travel costs and other expenses out of pocket to do their jobs.
Some airline pilots fear the partial shutdown by Congress of the Federal Aviation Administration is putting undue pressure on the inspectors.
"When the FAA inspectors are paying their own bills, will they go far enough, do enough and stay on site long enough to answer all of the concerns?" said one longtime pilot who spoks on the condition that his name not be used.
"Safety costs money," he added.
If the matter is not resolved soon, rank and file union members will ask the pilots and other airlines unions to weigh-in and potentially take steps of their own.
LaHood insisted the inspectors who are fronting their own money to do their job "are dedicated federal employees who believe in their mission of safety."
"I can say without equivocation, safety will never be compromised. Flying is safe, and passenger schedules should not be compromised by this issue," LaHood said.
Congress failed to fund the FAA, forcing 4,000 FAA employees to be furloughed and costing paychecks for another 70,000 construction workers who had been working on $11 billion worth of airport projects.
The government believes it is losing $1 billion in uncollected taxes because of the do-nothing Congress.
Lawmakers blew out of Washington this week for their five-week vacations without resolving the FAA issue. President Obama has asked Congress to return in the next fews days to fix the problem.
"Congress needs to come back, resolve their differences, compromise, and put our friends and neighbors and colleagues back to work," LaHood said. "They should not leave 74,000 people hanging out there, without jobs, without a paycheck, until September."
Showing posts with label financial crisis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label financial crisis. Show all posts
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Markets Still Tanking? Debt Debacle a Yawn on Wall Street
Updated at 11:15 p.m. edt
China's largest credit-rating agency, Global Credit Rating Co., lowered its rating on U.S debt from A+ to A tonight, calling the American economy a "debt time bomb."
Stateside, Moody's credit rating service said while it has a "negative outlook" on the U.S., for now, at least, it will not lower its AAA credit rating.
Earlier Fitch, the No. 3 rating service, also said it will not lower the U.S. rating from AAA, but put Washington on notice that it's score remains under review.
end update
---[
Updated at 4 p.m. edt
President Obama signed the new budget-cutting measure into law this afternoon as Wall Street saw its eighth straight day of losses and a new poll showed Americans are disgusted with the bratty behavior in the debt-ceiling fight.
The Dow fell 265 points to finish at 11,866.84. The NASDAQ closed at 2669,24 plunging 75 points, while the S&P 500 fell 33 points, ending at 1,254.05.
The next nightmare for American markets may be the loss of the AAA credit rating the U.S. has enjoyed for the better part of a century.
"While the agreement is clearly a step in the right direction, the United States, as in much of Europe, must also confront tough choices on tax and spending against a weak economic back drop if the budget deficit and government debt is to be cut to safer levels over the medium term," the credit-rating service Fitch said in a statement.
Standard & Poors and Moody's have already put the U.S. on notice that its pristine rating is at risk.
There are also fears the U.S. could slip into a double-digit recession, especially if it turns out the Tea Party-driven debt law ends up costing more Americans their jobs, as some analysts predict.
The image of elected federal officials continued to slide in the eyes of Americans fed up over the handling of the debt debate, according to a CNN/ORC International poll taken yesterday.
The poll showed 52% of respondents are opposed to the debt ceiling deal while 44% favor it --- and 77% of Americans scoffed at the behavior of lawmakers during the debate.
"When three-quarters say that elected officials are behaving like spoiled children, it's probably safe to say that there are no winners," said CNN polling director Keating Holland.
end update
---[
The new budget-slashing law did little to immediately boost Wall Street and the global markets as the house-of-cards financial system sways amid tanking economies around the world, including the U.S.
The Dow Jones industrial average dipped below 12,000 shortly after the Senate voted 74-26 to pass the complicated, two-tiered measure that for more than a month gridlocked Washington, ravaged the financial markets and angered Americans already fed up with the shenanigans of their elected officials.
"Our economy didn’t need Washington to come along with a manufactured crisis to make things worse," President Obama said after the vote. "It’s pretty likely that the uncertainty surrounding the raising of the debt ceiling, for both businesses and consumers, has been unsettling, and just one more impediment to the full recovery that we need."
He added, "And it was something that we could have avoided entirely."
Elements of the Tea Party, seen by some observers as having been duped into carrying the water for Wall Street and corporate interests, has argued that the economy would turn around by dialing down the $14.3 trillion federal debt.
The European banking crisis, stagnant U.S. employment (with more layoffs coming as a result of the new budget-slashing debt law) and unrest in the Middle East oil patch neighborhood are among the factors behind the problems for the markets, analysts believe.
China's largest credit-rating agency, Global Credit Rating Co., lowered its rating on U.S debt from A+ to A tonight, calling the American economy a "debt time bomb."
Stateside, Moody's credit rating service said while it has a "negative outlook" on the U.S., for now, at least, it will not lower its AAA credit rating.
Earlier Fitch, the No. 3 rating service, also said it will not lower the U.S. rating from AAA, but put Washington on notice that it's score remains under review.
end update
---[
Updated at 4 p.m. edt
President Obama signed the new budget-cutting measure into law this afternoon as Wall Street saw its eighth straight day of losses and a new poll showed Americans are disgusted with the bratty behavior in the debt-ceiling fight.
The Dow fell 265 points to finish at 11,866.84. The NASDAQ closed at 2669,24 plunging 75 points, while the S&P 500 fell 33 points, ending at 1,254.05.
The next nightmare for American markets may be the loss of the AAA credit rating the U.S. has enjoyed for the better part of a century.
"While the agreement is clearly a step in the right direction, the United States, as in much of Europe, must also confront tough choices on tax and spending against a weak economic back drop if the budget deficit and government debt is to be cut to safer levels over the medium term," the credit-rating service Fitch said in a statement.
Standard & Poors and Moody's have already put the U.S. on notice that its pristine rating is at risk.
There are also fears the U.S. could slip into a double-digit recession, especially if it turns out the Tea Party-driven debt law ends up costing more Americans their jobs, as some analysts predict.
The image of elected federal officials continued to slide in the eyes of Americans fed up over the handling of the debt debate, according to a CNN/ORC International poll taken yesterday.
The poll showed 52% of respondents are opposed to the debt ceiling deal while 44% favor it --- and 77% of Americans scoffed at the behavior of lawmakers during the debate.
"When three-quarters say that elected officials are behaving like spoiled children, it's probably safe to say that there are no winners," said CNN polling director Keating Holland.
end update
---[
The new budget-slashing law did little to immediately boost Wall Street and the global markets as the house-of-cards financial system sways amid tanking economies around the world, including the U.S.
The Dow Jones industrial average dipped below 12,000 shortly after the Senate voted 74-26 to pass the complicated, two-tiered measure that for more than a month gridlocked Washington, ravaged the financial markets and angered Americans already fed up with the shenanigans of their elected officials.
"Our economy didn’t need Washington to come along with a manufactured crisis to make things worse," President Obama said after the vote. "It’s pretty likely that the uncertainty surrounding the raising of the debt ceiling, for both businesses and consumers, has been unsettling, and just one more impediment to the full recovery that we need."
He added, "And it was something that we could have avoided entirely."
Elements of the Tea Party, seen by some observers as having been duped into carrying the water for Wall Street and corporate interests, has argued that the economy would turn around by dialing down the $14.3 trillion federal debt.
The European banking crisis, stagnant U.S. employment (with more layoffs coming as a result of the new budget-slashing debt law) and unrest in the Middle East oil patch neighborhood are among the factors behind the problems for the markets, analysts believe.
Friday, July 29, 2011
House Passes Doomed Debt Legislation; Boehner Fights for Political Life
Updated at 8:45 p.m. EDT
As promised, the Senate rejected a GOP House debt-reduction bill tonight, just hours after Speaker John Boehner pulled off a legislative victory he needed to re-ignite his leadership over his party and its stubborn Tea Party wing.
The Senate voted 59-41 to defeat Boehner's hard-fought legislation, which twice was delayed this week from being brought to the floor because the Speaker had failed to garner enough support to ensure it would pass.
The GOP-led House had passed in the House early this evening. There were 22 Republicans who opposed Boehner and voted down his measure (Politico takes a glance at who they were). A couple of hours later the Democratic-led Senate killed it.
"The bill passed today in the House with exclusively Republican votes would have us face another debt ceiling crisis in just a few months by demanding the Constitution be amended or America defaults. This bill has been declared dead on arrival in the Senate," White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement issue just before the Senate vote.
"Now that yet another political exercise is behind us, with time dwindling, leaders need to start working together immediately to reach a compromise that avoids default and lays the basis for balanced deficit reduction," Carney added.
Boehner's bill would have required another debt debate at the end of this year and passage of a balanced-budget amendment to the constitution, or else the U.S. would default on its bills. A constitutional amendment requires the support of two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of the states.
Experts say it could take up to a decade to complete the process of adding a constitutional amendment.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans this weekend to bring his own bill to the Senate for a vote. If it passes, the House GOP may return the favor and reject his debt reduction measure.
And then comes the real negotiating process, where both sides may have only a matter of hours to find a compromise on how to draw the country's $14.3 trillion debt, or at agree to at least a framework that they can use to extend the talks beyond the deadline Tuesday.
"It's time to be adults," Reid said after the Senate tabled the Boehner measure.
But with three days to go before the U.S. defaults on paying some of its bills, some lawmakers think Washington is cutting it too close.
"It is very dicey at this point. I never thought we would be three days out from driving over the cliff," Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). told MSNBC.
end update
---[
The House GOP resuscitated the political life of Speaker John Boehner, passing his dead-on-arrival partisan debt ceiling measure as the Tuesday default deadline moved dangerously closer amid fears stonewalling in Washington already cost the U.S. a nearly century-old blue ribbon AAA credit rating.
The House GOP voted 218 to 210 in favor of Boehner's two-tiered measure that would guarantee the exact same debt fight at the end of the year, and calls for a balanced budget amendment in the constitution -- two measures that the White House and democrats say are deal-breakers.
Boehner tweaked the measure and scrambled for an additional 24 hours, shaking down House GOP members trying to reach the 216 votes threshold needed to pass the measure. The delay called into question Boehner's leadership and further elevated the prominence of the Tea Party Republicans in the GOP.
In his final remarks before the vote, Boehner took aim at President Obama for failing to put on paper his own debt celing plan, but the Speaker's words easily could have been meant for his detractors in the Republican ranks.
"I stuck my neck out a mile to try to get an agreement with the President of the United States. I stuck my neck out a mile, and I put revenues on the table in order to try to come an agreement to avert us being where we are now, but a lot people in this town can never say yes," Boehner said on the House floor.
Boehner's bill will fail to get through the Senate, but even if it did pass, Preesident Obama would veto it.
For the sixth straight day, the financial markets continued their decline amid the debt standoff, increasingly blamed on the unwavering Tea Party faction which threw down the gauntlet and opposed wiping out corporate tax loopholes or restoring the tax levels paid by the richest Americans during the 1990s.
Some Tea Party leaders, like Rep. Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin, oppose raising the debt ceiling at all.
Obama, meanwhile, urged Americans to weigh-in on the debt debate by contacting their elected officials. His campaign put out on Twitter the contacts for House lawmakers.
"If you want to see a bipartisan compromise -– a bill that can pass both houses of Congress and that I can sign -- let your members of Congress know. Make a phone call. Send an email. Tweet. Keep the pressure on Washington, and we can get past this," Obama said. "We are now running out of time."
As promised, the Senate rejected a GOP House debt-reduction bill tonight, just hours after Speaker John Boehner pulled off a legislative victory he needed to re-ignite his leadership over his party and its stubborn Tea Party wing.
The Senate voted 59-41 to defeat Boehner's hard-fought legislation, which twice was delayed this week from being brought to the floor because the Speaker had failed to garner enough support to ensure it would pass.
The GOP-led House had passed in the House early this evening. There were 22 Republicans who opposed Boehner and voted down his measure (Politico takes a glance at who they were). A couple of hours later the Democratic-led Senate killed it.
"The bill passed today in the House with exclusively Republican votes would have us face another debt ceiling crisis in just a few months by demanding the Constitution be amended or America defaults. This bill has been declared dead on arrival in the Senate," White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement issue just before the Senate vote.
"Now that yet another political exercise is behind us, with time dwindling, leaders need to start working together immediately to reach a compromise that avoids default and lays the basis for balanced deficit reduction," Carney added.
Boehner's bill would have required another debt debate at the end of this year and passage of a balanced-budget amendment to the constitution, or else the U.S. would default on its bills. A constitutional amendment requires the support of two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of the states.
Experts say it could take up to a decade to complete the process of adding a constitutional amendment.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans this weekend to bring his own bill to the Senate for a vote. If it passes, the House GOP may return the favor and reject his debt reduction measure.
And then comes the real negotiating process, where both sides may have only a matter of hours to find a compromise on how to draw the country's $14.3 trillion debt, or at agree to at least a framework that they can use to extend the talks beyond the deadline Tuesday.
"It's time to be adults," Reid said after the Senate tabled the Boehner measure.
But with three days to go before the U.S. defaults on paying some of its bills, some lawmakers think Washington is cutting it too close.
"It is very dicey at this point. I never thought we would be three days out from driving over the cliff," Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). told MSNBC.
end update
---[
The House GOP resuscitated the political life of Speaker John Boehner, passing his dead-on-arrival partisan debt ceiling measure as the Tuesday default deadline moved dangerously closer amid fears stonewalling in Washington already cost the U.S. a nearly century-old blue ribbon AAA credit rating.
The House GOP voted 218 to 210 in favor of Boehner's two-tiered measure that would guarantee the exact same debt fight at the end of the year, and calls for a balanced budget amendment in the constitution -- two measures that the White House and democrats say are deal-breakers.
Boehner tweaked the measure and scrambled for an additional 24 hours, shaking down House GOP members trying to reach the 216 votes threshold needed to pass the measure. The delay called into question Boehner's leadership and further elevated the prominence of the Tea Party Republicans in the GOP.
In his final remarks before the vote, Boehner took aim at President Obama for failing to put on paper his own debt celing plan, but the Speaker's words easily could have been meant for his detractors in the Republican ranks.
"I stuck my neck out a mile to try to get an agreement with the President of the United States. I stuck my neck out a mile, and I put revenues on the table in order to try to come an agreement to avert us being where we are now, but a lot people in this town can never say yes," Boehner said on the House floor.
Boehner's bill will fail to get through the Senate, but even if it did pass, Preesident Obama would veto it.
For the sixth straight day, the financial markets continued their decline amid the debt standoff, increasingly blamed on the unwavering Tea Party faction which threw down the gauntlet and opposed wiping out corporate tax loopholes or restoring the tax levels paid by the richest Americans during the 1990s.
Some Tea Party leaders, like Rep. Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin, oppose raising the debt ceiling at all.
Obama, meanwhile, urged Americans to weigh-in on the debt debate by contacting their elected officials. His campaign put out on Twitter the contacts for House lawmakers.
"If you want to see a bipartisan compromise -– a bill that can pass both houses of Congress and that I can sign -- let your members of Congress know. Make a phone call. Send an email. Tweet. Keep the pressure on Washington, and we can get past this," Obama said. "We are now running out of time."
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tea Party Resolute, but Wall Street Finally Freaks Over Debt Debacle
Wall Street and global financiers finally ended a schizophrenic stand on the debt shenanigans in Washington, soundly signaling with a nearly 200-point drop in the Dow Jones industrials today that a default will likely rip apart a weary American economy.
"Right now I'm pretty worried," said Howard Ward, a chief investment officer at asset manager GAMCO, quoted by the Associated Press.
Wall Street, like much of Washington, has been slow to catch up with the will of Americans, who for weeks have indicated in poll after poll that they want a debt compromise. They even would be willing to see revenues increase along with the slash and gut budget savings to get it done, surveys repeatedly show.
Others, like the Tea Party ideologues refuse to give an inch, and that is creating the unfathomable possibility that the U.S. might just default.
"As hours pass and the uncertainty builds, I think the market is starting to price in the potential that we might not have a solution by August 2," Channing Smith, managing director of Capital Advisors Inc., told Forbes. "Confidence in our political system is beginning to fade."
While investors worldwide finally awoke to the dangerous reality that stubborn political gamesmanship and entrenched ideological warfare truly has brought the U.S. to the brink of default, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office piled on with more bad news.
CBO ruled debt-reduction plans by GOP House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid both fall short of their projected savings.
Boehner's debt ceiling plan would cut the deficit by about $850 billion in 10 years, less than the $1.2 trillion claimed, while Reid’s plan would slash $2.2 trillion over 10 years, short of its promised $2.7 trillion in savings, CBO said.
It forced Boehner to retool his legislation, while Reid said his Senate measure could be repaired with a tweak (Reid and the Senate Democrats are unified in the defeat of the incremental Boehner plan, and Obama has promised to veto it. They do not want to revisit this again at Christmas time, as the plan calls for).
The pitiful partisan parlay seems to trigger a battle-a-moment, especially for Boehner, whose shadowboxing with President Obama has exposed a much more unwieldy circular firing squad -- one that pits the Speaker against the House Tea Party faction, at times including his deputy, House GOP leader Eric Cantor, and the mainstream Senate Republicans.
Perhaps fighting for more than just his debt legislation, Boehner decided go to the stick and take on the stonewall Tea Party faction.
"Get your ass in line," he told House Republicans today at a closed-door meeting, where he demanded his caucus vote tomorrow in favor of a retooled two-step debt reduction plan.
"I can't do this job unless you're behind me," Boehner pleaded.
(There are side fights, too: Tea Party scrapper Joe Walsh has decided to take on GOP Sen. John McCain, who has blasted the Tea Party for stonewalling and touting a minority position on lifting the debt ceiling. Walsh blamed McCain for the debt crisis).
As the impasse took a turn for the dramatic away from the public eye, it played out loud and clear on Wall Street. The escapades and impotence of America's elected officials may already have cost the nation its AAA credit rating, even if the problem is rectified, ratings experts have warned.
All the markets appeared to be jolted by the desperate debt dealings:
-Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 27.05 points, 2.03%, to 1,304.89.
-Dow Jones average declined 198.75 points, 1.595%, to 12,302.55.
-Nasdaq composite dropped 75.17 points, or 2.65%, to 2,764.79.
-10-year Treasury note fell 7/32, to 101 7/32; yield up 2.98% from 2.96%
The standoff in Washington also was a contributing factor to the European markets, though the state of the local economies was big blame for a third straight day of losses.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index sank 1.1% to end at 267.05. Markets from the FTSE to the Dax -- and everything else in-between -- took a hit.
Asian markets tonight (Washington time) are bracing for more of the same, expected to follow where the U.S. financial markets left off -- in the hopper.
Congress is tasked with raising the country's $14.3 trillion borrowing limit by Aug. 2 to avoid a debt default.
"Given that it is so clearly within the capacity of Congress to find the compromise that could clear both houses and be signed into law to solve this problem, I still believe that because the stakes are so high and because the American public so clearly wants this done in the right way, that in the end, it will get done," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
"Right now I'm pretty worried," said Howard Ward, a chief investment officer at asset manager GAMCO, quoted by the Associated Press.
Wall Street, like much of Washington, has been slow to catch up with the will of Americans, who for weeks have indicated in poll after poll that they want a debt compromise. They even would be willing to see revenues increase along with the slash and gut budget savings to get it done, surveys repeatedly show.
Others, like the Tea Party ideologues refuse to give an inch, and that is creating the unfathomable possibility that the U.S. might just default.
"As hours pass and the uncertainty builds, I think the market is starting to price in the potential that we might not have a solution by August 2," Channing Smith, managing director of Capital Advisors Inc., told Forbes. "Confidence in our political system is beginning to fade."
While investors worldwide finally awoke to the dangerous reality that stubborn political gamesmanship and entrenched ideological warfare truly has brought the U.S. to the brink of default, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office piled on with more bad news.
CBO ruled debt-reduction plans by GOP House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid both fall short of their projected savings.
Boehner's debt ceiling plan would cut the deficit by about $850 billion in 10 years, less than the $1.2 trillion claimed, while Reid’s plan would slash $2.2 trillion over 10 years, short of its promised $2.7 trillion in savings, CBO said.
It forced Boehner to retool his legislation, while Reid said his Senate measure could be repaired with a tweak (Reid and the Senate Democrats are unified in the defeat of the incremental Boehner plan, and Obama has promised to veto it. They do not want to revisit this again at Christmas time, as the plan calls for).
The pitiful partisan parlay seems to trigger a battle-a-moment, especially for Boehner, whose shadowboxing with President Obama has exposed a much more unwieldy circular firing squad -- one that pits the Speaker against the House Tea Party faction, at times including his deputy, House GOP leader Eric Cantor, and the mainstream Senate Republicans.
Perhaps fighting for more than just his debt legislation, Boehner decided go to the stick and take on the stonewall Tea Party faction.
"Get your ass in line," he told House Republicans today at a closed-door meeting, where he demanded his caucus vote tomorrow in favor of a retooled two-step debt reduction plan.
"I can't do this job unless you're behind me," Boehner pleaded.
(There are side fights, too: Tea Party scrapper Joe Walsh has decided to take on GOP Sen. John McCain, who has blasted the Tea Party for stonewalling and touting a minority position on lifting the debt ceiling. Walsh blamed McCain for the debt crisis).
As the impasse took a turn for the dramatic away from the public eye, it played out loud and clear on Wall Street. The escapades and impotence of America's elected officials may already have cost the nation its AAA credit rating, even if the problem is rectified, ratings experts have warned.
All the markets appeared to be jolted by the desperate debt dealings:
-Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 27.05 points, 2.03%, to 1,304.89.
-Dow Jones average declined 198.75 points, 1.595%, to 12,302.55.
-Nasdaq composite dropped 75.17 points, or 2.65%, to 2,764.79.
-10-year Treasury note fell 7/32, to 101 7/32; yield up 2.98% from 2.96%
The standoff in Washington also was a contributing factor to the European markets, though the state of the local economies was big blame for a third straight day of losses.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index sank 1.1% to end at 267.05. Markets from the FTSE to the Dax -- and everything else in-between -- took a hit.
Asian markets tonight (Washington time) are bracing for more of the same, expected to follow where the U.S. financial markets left off -- in the hopper.
Congress is tasked with raising the country's $14.3 trillion borrowing limit by Aug. 2 to avoid a debt default.
"Given that it is so clearly within the capacity of Congress to find the compromise that could clear both houses and be signed into law to solve this problem, I still believe that because the stakes are so high and because the American public so clearly wants this done in the right way, that in the end, it will get done," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Dems to Obama: You Gotta Be (Expletive Deleted) Kidding Me
Updated 2 p.m. edt
As expected, the Senate rejected today what Democrats said was a draconian House plan to cut government spending, raise the federal debt limit and amend the constitution to include a balanced budget amendment.
Senators voted 51 to 46 along party lines to defeat the measure known as the "cut, cap and balance" bill.
President Obama had vowed to veto the bill had it passed in the Senate.
end update
---[
President Obama finds himself at odds today with senior congressional Democrats, who are angry at him over concessions to Republicans in debt-ceiling talks, further complaining that they are being at left out of the negotiations.
Obama and House Speaker John Boehner are reportedly discussing a plan that could include up to $3 trillion in spending cuts, but would delay implementing much of the tax and revenue provisions, congressional aides said.
Democrats do not like the deal.
At an often testy two-hour meeting yesterday with White House budget chief Jack Lew, Democrats protested -- loudly -- that the White House was undercutting their re-election hopes with the Social Security and Medicare giveaways that the President has proposed.
Veteran Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, a former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, complainted to The Washington Post that the Tea Party convinced Obama "to go along with a deal that basically gives them everything they want but yet still takes away from those who are our most vulnerable."
But the smart money says Democrats have little to fear: Obama is banking that the GOP will not take him up on his his latest Machiavellian offer to tinker with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Aug. 2 is the drop-dead deadline for a deal to keep the U.S. from defaulting on its loan payments. If there is no serious progress made in talks this weekend it diminishes the chance of a comprehensive deal.
As expected, the Senate rejected today what Democrats said was a draconian House plan to cut government spending, raise the federal debt limit and amend the constitution to include a balanced budget amendment.
Senators voted 51 to 46 along party lines to defeat the measure known as the "cut, cap and balance" bill.
President Obama had vowed to veto the bill had it passed in the Senate.
end update
---[
President Obama finds himself at odds today with senior congressional Democrats, who are angry at him over concessions to Republicans in debt-ceiling talks, further complaining that they are being at left out of the negotiations.
Obama and House Speaker John Boehner are reportedly discussing a plan that could include up to $3 trillion in spending cuts, but would delay implementing much of the tax and revenue provisions, congressional aides said.
Democrats do not like the deal.
At an often testy two-hour meeting yesterday with White House budget chief Jack Lew, Democrats protested -- loudly -- that the White House was undercutting their re-election hopes with the Social Security and Medicare giveaways that the President has proposed.
Veteran Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, a former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, complainted to The Washington Post that the Tea Party convinced Obama "to go along with a deal that basically gives them everything they want but yet still takes away from those who are our most vulnerable."
But the smart money says Democrats have little to fear: Obama is banking that the GOP will not take him up on his his latest Machiavellian offer to tinker with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Aug. 2 is the drop-dead deadline for a deal to keep the U.S. from defaulting on its loan payments. If there is no serious progress made in talks this weekend it diminishes the chance of a comprehensive deal.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Obama & Cantor Joust as Moody's Joins S&P in Issuing Debt Warning
Investors fired a broadside today at the shenanigans surrounding Washington's debt negotiations, killing a Wall Street rally over what should have been anticipated news that Moody's rating service would lower the U.S. AAA credit rating if a deal is not reached.
Moody's officially joined the Standard & Poor's credit rating service in warning Congress and the White House that they need to do a deal, or else the U.S. could find itself in another financial crisis like the one that crippled markets and wiped out fortunes and 401ks in the summer of 2008.
Moody's disclosure that it would put the U.S. "under review" had been expected, yet with the financial markets so volatile it was enough to kill a rally on Wall Street and send the dollar and 10-year Treasury note downward. The U.S. stock exchanges mostly ended on a positive note, but they still pulled back in the final hour of trading on the Moody's news.
Apparently the rally-killing news did little to shake up the players around the negotiating table at the White House, where President Obama and House GOP leader Eric Cantor locked horns at what was described as a contentious meeting.
Cantor told reporters Obama became "agitated" when the Virginia Republican suggested a short-term deal, prompting the President to warned him not to "call my bluff."
Obama, who has firmly stated he will not accept a short-term deal, then pushed away from the table and left the meeting.
"I know why he lost his temper," Cantor said. "He's frustrated. We're all frustrated."
Obama aides later reportedly described Cantor's explanation "overblown."
The testy parlay today, however, will not keep the negotiators from meeting again tomorrow back at the White House for the fourth straight day.
Moody's officially joined the Standard & Poor's credit rating service in warning Congress and the White House that they need to do a deal, or else the U.S. could find itself in another financial crisis like the one that crippled markets and wiped out fortunes and 401ks in the summer of 2008.
Moody's disclosure that it would put the U.S. "under review" had been expected, yet with the financial markets so volatile it was enough to kill a rally on Wall Street and send the dollar and 10-year Treasury note downward. The U.S. stock exchanges mostly ended on a positive note, but they still pulled back in the final hour of trading on the Moody's news.
Apparently the rally-killing news did little to shake up the players around the negotiating table at the White House, where President Obama and House GOP leader Eric Cantor locked horns at what was described as a contentious meeting.
Cantor told reporters Obama became "agitated" when the Virginia Republican suggested a short-term deal, prompting the President to warned him not to "call my bluff."
Obama, who has firmly stated he will not accept a short-term deal, then pushed away from the table and left the meeting.
"I know why he lost his temper," Cantor said. "He's frustrated. We're all frustrated."
Obama aides later reportedly described Cantor's explanation "overblown."
The testy parlay today, however, will not keep the negotiators from meeting again tomorrow back at the White House for the fourth straight day.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Obama: 70M Social Security, Vets & Disability Checks at Risk if No Deal
Same story, different day as the debt negotiations go on.
The congressional leaders from both parties are back late this afternoon at the White House, but this time facing a stark warning from President Obama, who says he cannot guarantee that Social Security, veterans benefits or disability checks will go out on Aug. 3 if no deal is reached by Aug. 2.
"I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on Aug. 3 if we haven't resolved this issue. Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it," Obama said in an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley set to air tonight.
Obama, who apparently has not played his lkast wild card in the high-stakes game of political poker, was asked specifically about Social Security, but said the problem is much bigger that that.
"This is not just a matter of Social Security checks. These are veterans checks, these are folks on disability and their checks. There are about 70 million checks that go out," Obama said.
As it stands, Obama won't do a short-term deal and the Republicans say they won't do a deal that includes tax increases.
There is evidence that the showdown over raising the debt ceiling is beginning to take a toll on the financial markets, as analysts blame a downturn in most of the global markets overnight, including Wall Street the past two days, on two main concerns: The growing debt crisis in Europe and the debt shenanigans in Washington.
Meanwhile, Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), is offering up a scheme that may allow Obama to raise the debt ceiling with a vote, a veto and override vote.
It is a complex plan that the Democrats will first have to review, but at face value it appears to require something that neither side has for the other: Trust.
The congressional leaders from both parties are back late this afternoon at the White House, but this time facing a stark warning from President Obama, who says he cannot guarantee that Social Security, veterans benefits or disability checks will go out on Aug. 3 if no deal is reached by Aug. 2.
"I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on Aug. 3 if we haven't resolved this issue. Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it," Obama said in an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley set to air tonight.
Obama, who apparently has not played his lkast wild card in the high-stakes game of political poker, was asked specifically about Social Security, but said the problem is much bigger that that.
"This is not just a matter of Social Security checks. These are veterans checks, these are folks on disability and their checks. There are about 70 million checks that go out," Obama said.
As it stands, Obama won't do a short-term deal and the Republicans say they won't do a deal that includes tax increases.
There is evidence that the showdown over raising the debt ceiling is beginning to take a toll on the financial markets, as analysts blame a downturn in most of the global markets overnight, including Wall Street the past two days, on two main concerns: The growing debt crisis in Europe and the debt shenanigans in Washington.
Meanwhile, Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), is offering up a scheme that may allow Obama to raise the debt ceiling with a vote, a veto and override vote.
It is a complex plan that the Democrats will first have to review, but at face value it appears to require something that neither side has for the other: Trust.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Boehner Admits He'll Bag Big Budget Deal to Protect Corporations & Rich
House Speaker John Boehner vowed tonight to protect corporate tax loopholes and the rich even if it means foregoing a massive $4 trillion deficit reduction deal that would take a significant chunk out of the $14.3 trillion national debt.
"Despite good-faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes," (R-Ohio) said in a statement. "I believe the best approach may be to focus on producing a smaller measure."
Foremost, the White House has said it wants to eliminate tax breaks for hugely profitable industries, rejecting the GOP philosophy of putting the burden of revenue-raising on the middle class.
Some in the administration readily admit that President Obama's decision to extend tax breaks for the rich last year has failed to create jobs, but instead inspired the GOP to seek more boodle for the corporations and the rich, the chief financiers of their party -- even amid a fiscal crisis that is killing Main Street Americans.
White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer argues that the majority of Americans want the wealthiest Americans and special interests to stop squeezing every extra penny out of the Middle Class to subsidize their opulent lifestyles.
"The President believes that solving our fiscal problems is an economic imperative. But in order to do that, we cannot ask the middle-class and seniors to bear all the burden of higher costs and budget cuts," Pfeiffer said in a statement issued this evening.
"Both parties have made real progress thus far, and to back off now will not only fail to solve our fiscal challenge, it will confirm the cynicism people have about politics in Washington," he added.
Boehner issued the statement on eve of crucial debt celling talks tomorrow at the White House. Obama hopes the Speaker will rethink his play and take a deal that will cut deeply into the federal deficit.
"Despite good-faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes," (R-Ohio) said in a statement. "I believe the best approach may be to focus on producing a smaller measure."
Foremost, the White House has said it wants to eliminate tax breaks for hugely profitable industries, rejecting the GOP philosophy of putting the burden of revenue-raising on the middle class.
Some in the administration readily admit that President Obama's decision to extend tax breaks for the rich last year has failed to create jobs, but instead inspired the GOP to seek more boodle for the corporations and the rich, the chief financiers of their party -- even amid a fiscal crisis that is killing Main Street Americans.
White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer argues that the majority of Americans want the wealthiest Americans and special interests to stop squeezing every extra penny out of the Middle Class to subsidize their opulent lifestyles.
"The President believes that solving our fiscal problems is an economic imperative. But in order to do that, we cannot ask the middle-class and seniors to bear all the burden of higher costs and budget cuts," Pfeiffer said in a statement issued this evening.
"Both parties have made real progress thus far, and to back off now will not only fail to solve our fiscal challenge, it will confirm the cynicism people have about politics in Washington," he added.
Boehner issued the statement on eve of crucial debt celling talks tomorrow at the White House. Obama hopes the Speaker will rethink his play and take a deal that will cut deeply into the federal deficit.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
So Far, No Movement on Looming Debt Crisis
Updated at 5:45 p.m. EDT
President Obama said today he wants "to do something big" to tackle the deficit and debt problem, not just agree to a quick fix like the stunt-like approach GOP. Sen John Cornyn pitched with his proposal to only do a "mini deal" for now.
"Now, I've heard reports that there may be some in Congress who want to do just enough to make sure that America avoids defaulting on our debt in the short term but then wants to kick the can down the road when it comes to solving the larger problem of our deficit," Obama said during an appearance in the White House briefing room.
"I don't share that view. I don't think the American people here sent us here to avoid tough problems. That's, in fact, what drives them nuts about Washington, when both parties simply take the path of least resistance, and I don't want to do that here. I believe that right now we've got a unique opportunity to do something big, to tackle our deficit in a way that forces our government to live within its means, that puts our economy on a stronger footing for the future and still allows us to invest in that future," Obama added.
Obama invited the leaders of Congress back to White House Thursday for another debt limit negotiation, saying lawmakers need to check their agendas at the door.
"Even as we continue discussions today and tomorrow, I have asked leaders of both parties and both houses of Congress to come here to the White House on Thursday, so we can build on the work that's already been done and drive towards a final agreement," Obama said. "It's my hope that everybody's going to leave their ultimatums at the door, that we'll all leave our political rhetoric at the door, and that we're going to do what's best for our economy and do what's best for our people."
Obama repeated his vision of "a balanced approach" that includes cutting "spending in domestic programs, in defense programs, in entitlement programs," as well as "spending in the tax code, spending on certain tax breaks and deductions for the wealthiest of Americans."
"This will require both parties to get out of our comfort zones, and both parties to agree on real compromise," Obama said. "I'm ready to do that. I believe there are enough people in each party that are willing to do that. And what I know is that we need to come together over the next two weeks to reach a deal that reduces the deficit and upholds the full faith and credit of the United States government and the credit of the American people."
---[
There was some talk over the weekend of a potential mini-deal on the looming debt crisis, but the White House says that is all it was: Talk. President Obama, as of now, wants a full deal and does not want a Band-Aid approach, rejecting the idea floated by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.).
So the U.S. Senate is in session today with the hope of resolving the debt crisis ahead of a hard Aug. 2 deadline. Obama has set his own deadline of July 22 to allow the review of the final dead, once it is reached.
The federal debt stands at $14.3 trillion.
The GOP leadership also will have to sell any deal that includes new revenue to its rank and file members, especially the Tea Party faction which has taken up the cause of protecting the rich from tax increases and corporations from having to give up their tax loopholes.
At Obama's urging, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid called the Senate into session, foregoing its usual Fourth of July holiday break.
If Republicans and Democrats do not raise the federal debt limit it would put the federal government in the position of defaulting on some of its bills and that would likely send the financial markets into a tailspin. There are fears that it could trigger another economic crisis on par with what we saw in 2008 at the end of the Bush administration.
Republicans want about $2 trillion in budget cuts, while Obama is looking for somewhere in the vicinity of $400 billion in tax loopholes wiped off the slate. For the first time, the White House reportedly has signaled that it would consider cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, if Republicans will bend on their refusal to allow the elimination of the corporate tax loopholes.
Obama has proposed eliminating tax breaks for the hugely profitable oil and gas industry, hedge fund managers and owners of corporate jets.
The debt fund debate comes as The New York Times reports that median pay for top executives at 200 large companies last year was $10.8 million. Those salaries work out to a 23% gain for the CEOs over 2009 levels, as compared to only a .5% hike in pay for rank and file workers. Given inflation, workers on the bottom rung actually lost money.
Philippe P. Dauman, the chief executive of Viacom, stands atop the list with an $84.5 million salary last year, after inking new long-term deal that includes one-time stock awards, the Times reported.
President Obama said today he wants "to do something big" to tackle the deficit and debt problem, not just agree to a quick fix like the stunt-like approach GOP. Sen John Cornyn pitched with his proposal to only do a "mini deal" for now.
"Now, I've heard reports that there may be some in Congress who want to do just enough to make sure that America avoids defaulting on our debt in the short term but then wants to kick the can down the road when it comes to solving the larger problem of our deficit," Obama said during an appearance in the White House briefing room.
"I don't share that view. I don't think the American people here sent us here to avoid tough problems. That's, in fact, what drives them nuts about Washington, when both parties simply take the path of least resistance, and I don't want to do that here. I believe that right now we've got a unique opportunity to do something big, to tackle our deficit in a way that forces our government to live within its means, that puts our economy on a stronger footing for the future and still allows us to invest in that future," Obama added.
Obama invited the leaders of Congress back to White House Thursday for another debt limit negotiation, saying lawmakers need to check their agendas at the door.
"Even as we continue discussions today and tomorrow, I have asked leaders of both parties and both houses of Congress to come here to the White House on Thursday, so we can build on the work that's already been done and drive towards a final agreement," Obama said. "It's my hope that everybody's going to leave their ultimatums at the door, that we'll all leave our political rhetoric at the door, and that we're going to do what's best for our economy and do what's best for our people."
Obama repeated his vision of "a balanced approach" that includes cutting "spending in domestic programs, in defense programs, in entitlement programs," as well as "spending in the tax code, spending on certain tax breaks and deductions for the wealthiest of Americans."
"This will require both parties to get out of our comfort zones, and both parties to agree on real compromise," Obama said. "I'm ready to do that. I believe there are enough people in each party that are willing to do that. And what I know is that we need to come together over the next two weeks to reach a deal that reduces the deficit and upholds the full faith and credit of the United States government and the credit of the American people."
---[
There was some talk over the weekend of a potential mini-deal on the looming debt crisis, but the White House says that is all it was: Talk. President Obama, as of now, wants a full deal and does not want a Band-Aid approach, rejecting the idea floated by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.).
So the U.S. Senate is in session today with the hope of resolving the debt crisis ahead of a hard Aug. 2 deadline. Obama has set his own deadline of July 22 to allow the review of the final dead, once it is reached.
The federal debt stands at $14.3 trillion.
The GOP leadership also will have to sell any deal that includes new revenue to its rank and file members, especially the Tea Party faction which has taken up the cause of protecting the rich from tax increases and corporations from having to give up their tax loopholes.
At Obama's urging, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid called the Senate into session, foregoing its usual Fourth of July holiday break.
If Republicans and Democrats do not raise the federal debt limit it would put the federal government in the position of defaulting on some of its bills and that would likely send the financial markets into a tailspin. There are fears that it could trigger another economic crisis on par with what we saw in 2008 at the end of the Bush administration.
Republicans want about $2 trillion in budget cuts, while Obama is looking for somewhere in the vicinity of $400 billion in tax loopholes wiped off the slate. For the first time, the White House reportedly has signaled that it would consider cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, if Republicans will bend on their refusal to allow the elimination of the corporate tax loopholes.
Obama has proposed eliminating tax breaks for the hugely profitable oil and gas industry, hedge fund managers and owners of corporate jets.
The debt fund debate comes as The New York Times reports that median pay for top executives at 200 large companies last year was $10.8 million. Those salaries work out to a 23% gain for the CEOs over 2009 levels, as compared to only a .5% hike in pay for rank and file workers. Given inflation, workers on the bottom rung actually lost money.
Philippe P. Dauman, the chief executive of Viacom, stands atop the list with an $84.5 million salary last year, after inking new long-term deal that includes one-time stock awards, the Times reported.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
S&P, Moody's Will Lower U.S. Credit Rating Over Debt Limit
Standard & Poors would downgrade the AAA U.S. credit rating to a failing grade if Congress and the White House do not break an impasse and reach a deal on raising the federal debt ceiling in the next month.
"If the U.S. government misses a payment, it goes to D," John Chambers, chairman of S & P’s sovereign rating committee, told Reuters. "That would happen right after August 4, when the bills mature, because they don't have a grace period."
Rival credit-rating service Moody's said it will also lower its credit rating if the U.S. fails to raise its debt limit.
“We believe the debt ceiling will be raised and the government won’t default,” Chambers told Bloomberg. “Otherwise we wouldn’t have a AAA rating on the U.S. government. It’s evolving as we expected."
The warning from the Wall Street credit watchdogs came as President Obama said he wants a balanced set of budget cuts and corporate tax loopholes eliminated as part of the package aimed at beginning to reduce the $14.3 billion federal debt.
GOP House Speaker John Boehner quickly indicated he intends to protect the corporate tax breaks, even though the White House only intends to target hugely profitable industries that it says can afford to end the tax boondoggle.
Globally, the austerity movement moves to Britain, which faces a strike today over cuts to public pension plans. Workers of the world unite! "Remember when teachers, nurses, doctors & lollipop ladies crashed the stock market, wiped out banks, took billions in bonuses and paid no tax? Me neither. Support the strikes against the government," Tweeted British shop owner Bristol Green.
Greece, meanwhile, is quiet today after two days of violent clashes between protesters and police in Athens. Tear-gas clouds appear to have given way to clear skies after the Greek parliament approved a five-year package that will prevent Greece from defaulting on a loan payment next week to the International Monetary Fund and EU.
Greek authorities are cautious, however, since a plan on how to implement the $40 billion austerity program is expected to be approved in parliament today.
"If the U.S. government misses a payment, it goes to D," John Chambers, chairman of S & P’s sovereign rating committee, told Reuters. "That would happen right after August 4, when the bills mature, because they don't have a grace period."
Rival credit-rating service Moody's said it will also lower its credit rating if the U.S. fails to raise its debt limit.
“We believe the debt ceiling will be raised and the government won’t default,” Chambers told Bloomberg. “Otherwise we wouldn’t have a AAA rating on the U.S. government. It’s evolving as we expected."
The warning from the Wall Street credit watchdogs came as President Obama said he wants a balanced set of budget cuts and corporate tax loopholes eliminated as part of the package aimed at beginning to reduce the $14.3 billion federal debt.
GOP House Speaker John Boehner quickly indicated he intends to protect the corporate tax breaks, even though the White House only intends to target hugely profitable industries that it says can afford to end the tax boondoggle.
Globally, the austerity movement moves to Britain, which faces a strike today over cuts to public pension plans. Workers of the world unite! "Remember when teachers, nurses, doctors & lollipop ladies crashed the stock market, wiped out banks, took billions in bonuses and paid no tax? Me neither. Support the strikes against the government," Tweeted British shop owner Bristol Green.
Greece, meanwhile, is quiet today after two days of violent clashes between protesters and police in Athens. Tear-gas clouds appear to have given way to clear skies after the Greek parliament approved a five-year package that will prevent Greece from defaulting on a loan payment next week to the International Monetary Fund and EU.
Greek authorities are cautious, however, since a plan on how to implement the $40 billion austerity program is expected to be approved in parliament today.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Looming Financial Crisis: Greek Tragedy at Home & Abroad
The White House still thinks a compromise can be worked out over raising the debt ceiling.
“We believe there is the opportunity here for a substantial compromise on a significant deficit reduction agreement that is done in a way that is balanced, allows the economy to continue to grow and create jobs even as we get our fiscal house in order," White House spokesman Jay Carney said today.
President Obama met behind closed doors with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell last night, but there was no give in the impasse over the Republican's refusal to increase revenues through tax hikes by closing tax loopholes.
Obama's often-ignored left-leaning base voters would like to see revenues raised by wiping out tax breaks for the oil industry and companies that send American jobs overseas.
"They agreed to continue talking. It was a useful meeting and their consultations will continue with the President, with the Vice President, with others on our team, with leaders of Congress and members of the negotiating team in Congress," Carney said.
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the self-styled socialist lawmaker, blasted the President, charging that Obama is going sell out working families, the elderly and poor by caving to the Republicans. Sanders is asking Americans to sign onto a petition he is sending to the White House.
"Mr. President, please listen to the overwhelming majority of the American people who believe that deficit reduction must be about shared sacrifice. The wealthiest Americans and the most profitable corporations in this country must pay their fair share," Sanders wrote in a a letter to Obama posted on his website.
With a little more than a month before the deadline, the U.S. national debt stands at more than $14.3 trillion. Obama will host Senate Democrats tomorrow to plot their strategy moving forward.
Across the ocean all hell is breaking loose over the same issue.
About 20,000 protesters, a handful lobbing molotov cocktails, tried to penetrate a 4,000-man human shield around the Greek parliament in Athens today to protest proposed government cutbacks and top-to-bottom tax hikes.
This Greek tragedy came at the start of a two-day national strike protesting a new round of national austerity reforms. Greece's parliament has a vote scheduled for tomorrow on the $40 billion package.
Greece has a $17 billion interest payment due next week on the a $156 billion bailout loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
If it defaults there are widespread fears that it could trigger a global economic catastrophe on par with the one Wall Street and the banking industry gave the world in the summer of 2008.
“We believe there is the opportunity here for a substantial compromise on a significant deficit reduction agreement that is done in a way that is balanced, allows the economy to continue to grow and create jobs even as we get our fiscal house in order," White House spokesman Jay Carney said today.
President Obama met behind closed doors with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell last night, but there was no give in the impasse over the Republican's refusal to increase revenues through tax hikes by closing tax loopholes.
Obama's often-ignored left-leaning base voters would like to see revenues raised by wiping out tax breaks for the oil industry and companies that send American jobs overseas.
"They agreed to continue talking. It was a useful meeting and their consultations will continue with the President, with the Vice President, with others on our team, with leaders of Congress and members of the negotiating team in Congress," Carney said.
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the self-styled socialist lawmaker, blasted the President, charging that Obama is going sell out working families, the elderly and poor by caving to the Republicans. Sanders is asking Americans to sign onto a petition he is sending to the White House.
"Mr. President, please listen to the overwhelming majority of the American people who believe that deficit reduction must be about shared sacrifice. The wealthiest Americans and the most profitable corporations in this country must pay their fair share," Sanders wrote in a a letter to Obama posted on his website.
With a little more than a month before the deadline, the U.S. national debt stands at more than $14.3 trillion. Obama will host Senate Democrats tomorrow to plot their strategy moving forward.
Across the ocean all hell is breaking loose over the same issue.
About 20,000 protesters, a handful lobbing molotov cocktails, tried to penetrate a 4,000-man human shield around the Greek parliament in Athens today to protest proposed government cutbacks and top-to-bottom tax hikes.
This Greek tragedy came at the start of a two-day national strike protesting a new round of national austerity reforms. Greece's parliament has a vote scheduled for tomorrow on the $40 billion package.
Greece has a $17 billion interest payment due next week on the a $156 billion bailout loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
If it defaults there are widespread fears that it could trigger a global economic catastrophe on par with the one Wall Street and the banking industry gave the world in the summer of 2008.
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