Saturday, July 23, 2011

Debt Ceiling's Impact is Overrated

By Zebulen Riley

The government's debt ceiling has been the focus of heated debate in Washington, as many economists, politicians, and pundits buy into the notion that the debt ceiling must be raised to avoid economic disaster. The reality is that many potential catastrophes have been threatening the U.S. for years now, as a consequence of our growing debt. Treating our unhealthy fiscal state with more debt may stave off withdrawal symptoms for a while, but the underlying addiction to spending remains, and grows worse by the day.

Despite the fact that a debt ceiling increase only provides temporary, superficial respite, many of those who favor such a move give too much weight to the impact of the debt ceiling. In a recent op-ed in the Washington Post, Virginia Senator Mark Warner argues, "Failing to raise the debt ceiling will increase interest rates, gut consumer confidence, and drag down business investment and job creation." The notion that changing an artificial construct like the debt ceiling will have such a massive impact on real economic conditions comes from viewing the economy in the abstract. Rather, the economy is comprised of people who engage in millions of exchanges every day. Because the economy is not an abstraction but is very real, it is unlikely that an arbitrary debt limit would dramatically affect real economic conditions. Some parts of the doomsday scenario posed by officials like Senator Warner, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and the president may well come to pass: rising interest rates, consumer confidence falling, job creation declining. However, it is not likely to be the sole result of a failure to raise the debt ceiling, as we already see many of these symptoms occurring.

13 comments:

  1. have been unemployed for 9 months now. I have never recieved any unemployment benefits. Can't even get a job at a McDonalds. Would work anywhere. At this point. Worked the same job for many years and got tired of the bullshit. Wanted to make a job change and quit my job at the wrong time. Oh well. Just wish interest rates would go up. They have kept them down long enough. Nobody is looking to borrow money right now anyways. And if they are, chances are they can't get a loan.

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  2. The debt ceiling matters, the debt ceiling doesn't matter. Well seems like you aren't sure. What it all really means is that the US is trying to extend its line of credit because it has been running out of money for some time and has been borrowing extensively over the last ten years. Remember the 2001 bust? Well the defecit tripled since then. It didn't help that Bushy Jr. decided to start two wars at once. Now we find ourselves on 6 war fronts. The three are obvious, the others are not so obvious. So of course they want to keep more funds rolling in so the war machine can stay fluid. But at the same time it makes no sense whatsoever to maintain this course. Then again, who said politics always makes sense? When we start to default, the dollar will go down and interest rates will go like everyone has been saying for a long time.

    One way or another we will deal with the issue. Will it be the blue pill or the red pill? Will we turn the press on turbo drive and hyperinflate or simply stop paying our bills? Either way this may spell a lot of tumult around the globe, unhappiness with our lenders, and perhaps even (more) war.

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  3. This is such nonsense, everyone knows the families that are tied to the federal reserve would never ever let somthing like a debt ceiling get in the way and cause complete chaos.
    The very same banksters that are scaring every john does and jane does are the same banksters that will keep the counterfiet money printing.
    They the bankster famlies have much more to lose then you and I ....who in reality are nobodies.

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  4. 3:30 100% correct. They have too much invested in our clandestine empire right now. As long as we are willing to be their billy club, as long as they have a use for us, we will be allowed to continue.

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  5. Amazing how the MSM manipulates the sheep. The never ending campaign against people from the Middle East specifically Muslims never ends. Due to who owns all the media and our need to see these people as animals so it is no biggee to wipe them out.

    An example of this manipulation is the Norway killer. White. Christian. Photos are available, but we see none. Why? If he was a brown skinned Muslim with a beard he would be on every front page.

    If people could ever figure out how easily they are manipulated by the MSM and turn to sites like this blog that would be terrific.

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  6. its so simple
    from here
    50 percent dollar devaluation
    50 percenr houseing drop in price
    just to stabilize the money

    question is
    got gold?//

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  7. 5:35 I'm not so sure about that. Notice how, when that muslim military guy here in the states shot and killed a bunch of our military people and how quickly it died in the media. 2 weeks and they quit talking about it. And yes it is amazing how the media tries to manipulates the peoples' way of thinking and succeeds in those who cannot think for theirselves.

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  8. Watching face the nation and listening to democrats say that by not raising the ceiling that it will impose higher taxes on the American people through higher interest rates on borrowing. What a crock of shit. I hope interest rates go up. Credit cards for example- if you pay them off every month or just plain don't use them you won't pay any interest - period. If you want to buy a home get it now while interest rates are down and at a fixed rate. If you can't afford it you won't get a loan anyways. And not many banks are just handing out loans right now anyhow. Pay cash for a car and only buy what you can afford. Negotiate speak up on what your willing to pay car dealer wil budge if you are persistant. If not go somewhere else. Why pay more for something then what it is worth. The way things are now in the economy the government is discouraging savings and there are very few ways of investing your money except in risky stocks. So after years of scrimping and saving the want you to blow your money and be irresponsible like they are. Not raising the debt ceiling only means the government cannot borrow anymore money from other countries. They need to quit borrowing, pay off the debts, and be held responsible for the mishandling of our country's money.

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  9. 5:35 you are so full of shit it's coming out of your ears. All the major papers censor MINORITY crime. Execs at The New York Times, LA Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, et al have admitted doing it.


    Some of the most atrocious crimes ever committed in this country receive no national press WHATSOEVER. Look up Channon Christian and Chris Newsom. Anyone hear about the Wichita massacre? This was back when such an outrage would get NATIONAL press, if only for a week or two.

    Truth about black and latino crime levels gets in the way of wiping out nations and replacing them with their new world order.

    No European or Asian nation in their right mind, with accurate statistics and facts about third world society would allow themselves to be replaced by such people.


    http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KyZ89UDxaxkJ:the-salfordian.com/forum/news/new-york-times-editor-confesses-to-censoring-information-about-black-crime/+censoring+black+crime&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com

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  10. Careful what you say, lest you rile the feathers of the white supremacists who post here regularly.

    By the way, it's the conservatives that are calling for 1 TRILLION dollars more in taxes on the average joe whilst wanting to LOWER taxes on corporations, those same ones that have been getting bail out money from us in the trillion dollars! Wake up people!

    Easy credit will NOT just keep continuing so the empire can keep going on unmitigated in its goals of conquest and suppression around the world. In case anyone hasn't notice, other countries are bankrupting too. The whole failed system is a mess and getting worse.

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  11. much of what's happening has been foretold already. worse to come. and wars. counterfeit money or, means of settlements which are created by them. whose image or symbol is on the paper? yep worse coming, compared to eternity the worlds drive to disarray, war and hell is a blip, save your souls

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  12. Historically the banksters cover their tracks with staged and planned wars. That is what is coming. Gerald Celente nailed that one.

    After our US empire has done nothing but kill rape and ravage overseas it will no doubt come to a shock to neutered americans to see the same happening right here. Its 3:30am and an ordinance just blew up your neighbors house. Imagine that. Our victims around the world don't have to imagine it they see it every day.

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  13. We're already in 2 "wars" but I guess you mean a really big one.

    Well Europe is broke too and really only Asia has any money right now. But our military should be so much stronger that it wouldn't even matter anymore...I think.

    If it came to a real WWIII type situation, and it was completely bankster driven, I suppose they would not use nukes until the very end, when they nail the scapegoat country and destroy it.

    Since Asia is beginning to compete with the US, a place like China could be the fall country to jump start the rest of the economy. It would have the added benefit of wiping out roughly $7T in debt that the Chinese hold. It almost makes too much sense.

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