Robert ReichI’m sick and tired of hearing this lie peddled by the GOP and corporate media. Raising the debt ceiling does not increase spending or the federal debt. It simply allows the government to pay bills it has already taken on— and defaulting on the debt would be catastrophic.
Dennis Croskey@rbreich Macroeconomics isn't exactly a strength of the average Murrikan citizen.
GrettaNot a new comment, but the label “debt ceiling” makes it difficult for many to understand and easy to exploit.
Joshua TanzerYou're right. The first person I heard vow to vote against raising the debt ceiling was Michele Bachmann, who realized that it was a thing you could campaign on that SOUNDED like it was fiscally responsible. Then the whole Republican Party caught on that this was campaign-ad gold, because nobody understood that the debt ceiling was not the debt, and now here we are.
@rbreich With today's GOP, I fully expect a default. Hoping someone finds an alternative way.
climate voter/degrowthist@rbreich Figures. Look at Trump's refusal to pay his debts.
JacquesBouchard@rbreich Out of curiosity and while acknowledging that it's still probably a political stunt even if this is true, but is it a protest about how much debt the country is willing to annually accrue? Like the pushback is on the pretense of how much debt is being allowed, and more symbolic than anything?
WndlB@JacquesBouchard @rbreich What you're saying is what floor speeches and spinning debt calculators are for. What this would be is refusing to pay your bills, even though you have plenty of assets + borrowing power. How does THAT work with, oh, Mastercard?
@JacquesBouchard @rbreich OK, the why is both outsized and overestimated perceived leverage. And because this periodic quicksand has been, unwisely, built into federal law.
The propaganda—$31 thousand billion!!—can be handled in in less irresponsible ways.
Andy Teaszer Fella@rbreich you know it’s all bs from them. They only plan on wrecking Democrats.
Greg Gator 
@rbreich They told us --publicly and out loud-- when they did it (massive overload caused by tax giveaway) that their INTENT was to overload the debt ceiling in order to eliminate SS and Medicare. Stop hiding the lead. REMIND people what they said publicly when they did it! plz and thx.
Ana Ribeiro 💙
Shawn@rbreich the terminology needs updating then. Because “raising the debt ceiling” sounds like asking for increasing your credit card limit before paying any of it down.
amyseekstruth@rbreich they want catastrophe
Mike Leech@rbreich they never gaf about it when Trump was president.
JanArz@rbreich does "eliminating Social Security " mean i won't get any of my money back when I retire? That's not an "entitlement "
@rbreich
I think most politicians spin this ceiling discussion to suit their desired narrative. If the debt ceiling is the maximum amount of money the federal government can borrow to pay its bills and not about new spending, then it would be false for any politician to suggest that raising the debt ceiling is an increase in spending. However, if the government is borrowing money to pay for things it has already “purchased”, would that not be an increase our overall debt obligations?
I think most politicians spin this ceiling discussion to suit their desired narrative. If the debt ceiling is the maximum amount of money the federal government can borrow to pay its bills and not about new spending, then it would be false for any politician to suggest that raising the debt ceiling is an increase in spending. However, if the government is borrowing money to pay for things it has already “purchased”, would that not be an increase our overall debt obligations?
JustAnotherWizard@rbreich You are correct!!!
volkrisWell that’s not true.
The Treasury has enough money flowing in throughout the year to cover bills it’s already taken on regardless of the debt ceiling.
Politicians (and corporate media) do try to confuse that by misleading people into thinking the bills are all taken on the moment an appropriations bill is signed, though.
That misconception needs to be corrected, as the federal government takes on bills throughout the year.
TeamRose@rbreich I understood this “fundamental truth”after receiving…
My 2nd 💳…(Jacobson’s) bill…💸
History has proven over & over again…that…
Dems may like the “Layaway plan”…
Repubs have no honor…they’re the “Dine & Dash” sort.
Someone else pays for your decisions.
Seems…cowardly.
@rbreich Both parties own this debt! So let's pay our bills!
Rick@rbreich "...Congress’s actions during the 1995–96 and 2011 debt-limit debates violated the Public Debt Clause, though Congress’s conduct during the debate over the debt limit in 2002 did not. And under a departmentalist understanding of executive power, a conclusion of this nature would be the basis for the president to ignore the debt limit when congressional actions create unconstitutional doubt about the validity of the public debt."https://dlj.law.duke.edu/article/the-debt-limit-and-the-constitution-how-the-fourteenth-amendment-forbids-fiscal-obstructionism/
@rbreich To be fair, not ALL corporate media peddles the "increases spending" lie; only a certain segment. Then again, that's the segment that peddles all sorts of lies on a regular basis.
Grandpa Don@rbreich
And the reason it needs raising so much now is the repubs quit collecting taxes on rich pricks and corporations. Everyone who voted for those tax cuts should have their vote to raise the ceiling to pay the bills entered for them, with them strapped to a chair and gagged.
And the reason it needs raising so much now is the repubs quit collecting taxes on rich pricks and corporations. Everyone who voted for those tax cuts should have their vote to raise the ceiling to pay the bills entered for them, with them strapped to a chair and gagged.
Sanjay Thakur@rbreich Poor governance by Govt and US is a classic example creating disastrous consequences for the entire world
Charles Fineberg@rbreich I'm right there with you in club tired and exasperated.
ivanhoek@rbreich The question that I have is - WHY is there a debt ceiling? I agree with you on the concept and explanation as well as the consequences of not raising the debt ceiling. It’s considered a given that it must be raised.. then the question is - why does it have to be raised? Why is this an option at all?
Iris Richardson Fine Art 🇩🇪🇺🇸📷