Did Obama Cave In Again???

[privateinvestor]

Obama open to short-term debt fix if big deal agreed

Tourists walk under the midday sun at the U.S. Capitol in Washington
By Jeff Mason and Andy Sullivan, Reuters
Wed Jul 20, 8:41 PM EDT
The White House signaled on Wednesday it could support a short-term increase in the U.S. borrowing limit for "a few days" if lawmakers agreed to a broad deficit reduction deal but needed more time to pass it.

The move, a shift from President Barack Obama's previous position, reflects the growing political reality that time is short for Congress to pass a massive deficit-cutting deal before the United States runs out of money on August 2.

A new proposal for long-term deficit reduction from a bipartisan group of senators known as the Gang of Six has revived hope that a broad agreement on spending cuts can be reached to avoid a looming default and alleviate pressure on America's triple-A credit rating.

Republicans do not want to support increasing the debt limit without deep spending cuts. Democrats want tax increases for the wealthiest Americans to be part of a deficit cutting package, an option most Republicans rule out.

Obama had vehemently opposed a short-term extension of the $14.3 trillion debt limit as a solution to the dilemma, and the White House reiterated that stance on Wednesday -- but with a caveat.

Obama's spokesman Jay Carney said in a written statement that the president would consider supporting a short-term fix if a deal had been reached "and we needed a very short-term extension (like a few days) to allow a bit of extra time for a bill to work its way through the legislative process."

White House officials had previously said July 22 was the last day a deal could be reached in time to get legislation through Congress, but meeting that deadline looks increasingly unlikely. Negotiators may meet through the end of the month.

The United States will run out of money to pay its bills if Congress does not increase the debt limit by August 2. Failure to act could plunge the United States back into recession and send shockwaves through global financial markets.

BACKUP PLANS, MORE MEETINGS

The Federal Reserve has been actively preparing for the possibility of default, ironing out what to do if the world's biggest economy runs out of cash in two weeks, Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser told Reuters.

Plosser said his "gut feeling" was that Obama and Congress would come to an agreement and avert a default.

Obama and congressional leaders have tried to reassure markets that the debt ceiling will be raised and a default avoided.

Obama met with Democratic congressional leaders at the White House on Wednesday afternoon and then held a separate meeting with John Boehner and Eric Cantor, the No. 1 and No. 2 Republicans in the House of Representatives, for roughly 1-1/2 hours later in the day.

Aides declined to give details about the meetings, but two Democratic officials said Obama had reiterated his opposition to a short-term deal in both settings.

The leaders were expected to have discussed an ambitious deficit reduction plan proposed on Tuesday by the Gang of Six. Obama has latched onto that plan as a way to help end the deadlock, which has threatened the United States' top-notch credit rating.

The $3.75 trillion Gang of Six plan calls for an immediate $500 billion in deficit savings and gives Congress six months to come up with more far-reaching reforms.

One of its authors, Democratic Senator Kent Conrad, said the initial portion could be used to raise the debt ceiling. That downpayment could presumably be raised to win the support of House Republicans who have given the plan mixed reviews.

Lawmakers have been scrambling to find a solution, and there is no single plan.

One leading option had been put forward by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and billed as a backup plan, which passes responsibility, authority and potentially blame for raising the debt ceiling to Obama.

McConnell's plan would allow Obama to raise U.S. borrowing authority in three separate chunks over the next year. He has been negotiating with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid to make it palatable to Democrats.

MARKETS REACT

The stalemate on debt talks has shaken global markets, and credit rating agencies said even if lawmakers raise the debt limit in time, the top-notch triple-A credit rating will still be under pressure without a broad deficit-reduction plan.

Brett Rose, head of U.S. rates strategy for Citigroup, said markets and rating agencies understand that ironing out all the legislative details could take time.

"They probably would have to do a short-term thing for a couple of weeks or a month while they get that passed, and that deal would satisfy the ratings agencies," Rose said. "I don't think this is a tactic that the ratings agencies would disapprove of."

Investors welcomed the Group of Six plan on Tuesday, driving up the price of 30-year Treasury bonds sharply and pushing global stocks higher. But on Wednesday, bond prices eased as Wall Street realized the road ahead remains long.

An analyst from Fitch said it was encouraging that progress appeared to be being made on a substantial deficit-reduction deal and said the credibility of the bipartisan plan was as important as the overall savings amount.

(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, Thomas Ferraro, Matt Spetalnick and Alister Bull in Washington, Kristina Cooke and Tim Ahmann in Philadelphia, and Emily Flitter in New York; Writing by Deborah Charles and Jeff Mason; Editing by Eric Beech)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Check for restrictions at: about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp



xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20110420/POLITICS-US-USA-DEBT/

[djAdvocate]

hate it.

[privateinvestor]

Obama has no other choice I think?? But even with a debt ceiling increase the Triple A Rating might be downgraded which is what Wall St will be watching..

[Value Buy]

I say, call his bluff.
Shut it down.

It will not happen.
I hope the Tea Party members in Congress stand their ground. That is why they were elected.
The sooner the Democrats understand this the sooner we will solve this mess.

[billisonboard]

Heard his new Secret Service codename is Spelunker1

[privateinvestor]

This is known as "Presidential Leadership" Obama style I guess???

Obama reminds me of a boss I worked for who would always ask us "What should I do or what would you guys do if you were in my position?' I felt like saying " Just do something, even if it is wrong at least do something and earn the big bucks you are being paid!"

[safeharbor37]

Did Obama Cave In Again???
There is a difference between a strategic retreat and surrender. This is the tactic of the liberal/progressive. They put their cards on the table demanding all they want then take what they can get ~ but they will be back. While the real people are busy making a living and raising families, the Alinsky types are plotting to take over even more control. The collectivists want to control, not create, wealth. It's the fundamental difference between the European style socialists and the American capitalist, whom some believe are the goose laying the golden eggs.
Obama has been well trained. He will demand much, take what he can and then wait for another opportunity to advance his agenda.

[djAdvocate]

Jul 20, 2011 20:50:55 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

I say, call his bluff.
Shut it down.

It will not happen.
I hope the Tea Party members in Congress stand their ground. That is why they were elected.
The sooner the Democrats understand this the sooner we will solve this mess.

i don't understand why it is so important that this happens in July of 2011, amidst a very fragile economic recovery. i mean, could there possibly be a worse time?

[djAdvocate]

Jul 20, 2011 21:04:56 GMT -5 safeharbor37 said:

Did Obama Cave In Again???
There is a difference between a strategic retreat and surrender. This is the tactic of the liberal/progressive. They put their cards on the table demanding all they want then take what they can get ~ but they will be back. While the real people are busy making a living and raising families, the Alinsky types are plotting to take over even more control. The collectivists want to control, not create, wealth. It's the fundamental difference between the European style socialists and the American capitalist, whom some believe are the goose laying the golden eggs.
Obama has been well trained. He will demand much, take what he can and then wait for another opportunity to advance his agenda.

whenever i hear "Alinsky" in a rant, i tune out. ditto for "collectivists".

[cereb]

Jul 20, 2011 21:04:56 GMT -5 safeharbor37 said:

Did Obama Cave In Again???
There is a difference between a strategic retreat and surrender. This is the tactic of the liberal/progressive. They put their cards on the table demanding all they want then take what they can get ~ but they will be back. While the real people are busy making a living and raising families, the Alinsky types are plotting to take over even more control. The collectivists want to control, not create, wealth. It's the fundamental difference between the European style socialists and the American capitalist, whom some believe are the goose laying the golden eggs.
Obama has been well trained. He will demand much, take what he can and then wait for another opportunity to advance his agenda.

Good grief.

[djAdvocate]

Jul 20, 2011 21:11:17 GMT -5 cereb said:

Jul 20, 2011 21:04:56 GMT -5 safeharbor37 said:

Did Obama Cave In Again???
There is a difference between a strategic retreat and surrender. This is the tactic of the liberal/progressive. They put their cards on the table demanding all they want then take what they can get ~ but they will be back. While the real people are busy making a living and raising families, the Alinsky types are plotting to take over even more control. The collectivists want to control, not create, wealth. It's the fundamental difference between the European style socialists and the American capitalist, whom some believe are the goose laying the golden eggs.
Obama has been well trained. He will demand much, take what he can and then wait for another opportunity to advance his agenda.

Good grief.

Glenn Beck lives on!

[cereb]

"Glenn Beck lives on! "


Apparently. <wipes off bottom of shoe>

[privateinvestor]

Jul 20, 2011 21:04:56 GMT -5 safeharbor37 said:

Did Obama Cave In Again???
There is a difference between a strategic retreat and surrender. This is the tactic of the liberal/progressive. They put their cards on the table demanding all they want then take what they can get ~ but they will be back. While the real people are busy making a living and raising families, the Alinsky types are plotting to take over even more control. The collectivists want to control, not create, wealth. It's the fundamental difference between the European style socialists and the American capitalist, whom some believe are the goose laying the golden eggs.
Obama has been well trained. He will demand much, take what he can and then wait for another opportunity to advance his agenda.

Right on Safeharbor good stuff again as always..and right out of the Alinsky Book, Obama will blame the republicans for forcing his hand again...and accuse them of trying to hurt his re election in 2012..

[safeharbor37]

You can tell from the reaction, right? Like turning on the light in a room full of roaches.

[henryclay]

Cereb said:

Today at 9:04pm, safeharbor37 wrote:

Did Obama Cave In Again???
There is a difference between a strategic retreat and surrender. This is the tactic of the liberal/progressive. They put their cards on the table demanding all they want then take what they can get ~ but they will be back. While the real people are busy making a living and raising families, the Alinsky types are plotting to take over even more control. The collectivists want to control, not create, wealth. It's the fundamental difference between the European style socialists and the American capitalist, whom some believe are the goose laying the golden eggs.
Obama has been well trained. He will demand much, take what he can and then wait for another opportunity to advance his agenda.

Good grief.

K to you, safe

[cereb]

Jul 20, 2011 21:28:17 GMT -5 @privateinvestor said:

Jul 20, 2011 21:04:56 GMT -5 safeharbor37 said:

Did Obama Cave In Again???
There is a difference between a strategic retreat and surrender. This is the tactic of the liberal/progressive. They put their cards on the table demanding all they want then take what they can get ~ but they will be back. While the real people are busy making a living and raising families, the Alinsky types are plotting to take over even more control. The collectivists want to control, not create, wealth. It's the fundamental difference between the European style socialists and the American capitalist, whom some believe are the goose laying the golden eggs.
Obama has been well trained. He will demand much, take what he can and then wait for another opportunity to advance his agenda.

Right on Safeharbor good stuff again as always..and right out of the Alinsky Book, Obama will blame the republicans for forcing his hand again...and accuse them of trying to hurt his re election in 2012..

Right. That would be the book you have never read. Obviously.

[cereb]

Jul 20, 2011 21:30:51 GMT -5 safeharbor37 said:

You can tell from the reaction, right? Like turning on the light in a room full of roaches.

How charming.

[cereb]

You folks all act like something intelligent and profound was posted. LMMFAO!

[privateinvestor]

Mitch McConnell will now have a press conference and say " We asked the President to lead or get out of the way and apparently he decided to get out of the way and let us Republicans lead out us out of this debt ceiling crisis with our way forward plan that I proposed to him and that he originally rejected"

[cereb]

Don't worry though PI, Henry hasn't read it either.

[safeharbor37]

Right. That would be the book you have never read. Obviously.

I have [Rules for Radicals]. What's your point?

[privateinvestor]

Obama probably had the White House Poltical advisors check his approval rating so they advised him to do something about the debt ceiling or else his approval rating would take a big hit again if he did nothing...

[cereb]

Jul 20, 2011 21:46:55 GMT -5 safeharbor37 said:

Right. That would be the book you have never read. Obviously.

I have [Rules for Radicals]. What's your point?

You incorrectly attributed a "tactic" to Alinsky in your post. If you had read his book you would not have made that error.

[safeharbor37]

You incorrectly attributed a "tactic" to Alinsky in your post.

I didn't attribute any "tactic" to Alinsky.

[handyman2]

I think Obama has come to the realization this issue is out of his league. He does not have a clue about how to proceed. He is now grasping at straws. Hoping something will surface. The problem is that time has run out.

[deziloooooo]

Jul 20, 2011 20:50:55 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

I say, call his bluff.
Shut it down.

It will not happen.
I hope the Tea Party members in Congress stand their ground. That is why they were elected.
The sooner the Democrats understand this the sooner we will solve this mess.

After having all the dire possibilities posted here by so many, unless one really belives none can happen, that is not true, but say they can, and you still feel that way?

Unbelivable .

[henryclay]

Look at it the way it is. What media is giving a fair shrift to any Republican utterance? But what media is giving upper tight hand front page on everything the Democrats even mumble about?

For starters, what media has bothered to ask a single Dempcrat to back up their claim that the government will run out of money? That claim is a farfetched as saying Obama will release his school records tomorrow. It won't happen. As I, (and others), havee been saying all along. taxes are paid into the US Trreasury every day, And there is no threat of any defaults. None, nada, zip.

What taxes are being paid into the treasury? Good gosh, just think. To start with what may be the most populaar tax is the one on alcohol, beer and wines. Then there's excise taxes on batteries, tires, TV sets, computers, and everything else subject to an excise tax. Every 18 wheeler on the highway has a federal Highway Use Tax they have to pay, and the last time I checked they also paid a gasoline and deisel fuel tax. Airlines, busses and trains pay a passernger tax. There's even a federal tax on bullets. So if anybody is buying the Democrat's rant that the government will run out of money and shut down, they're sleeping in a draft because it won't happen.

It's also true even though Michigan's government is shut down, it's certainly not out of money. They are collecting money everyday. They're shut down because they don't have a budget passed into law.

The arena is being set so that no matter what happens Obama will not only "not lose", he will be either the hero on a white hat, OR

He will be a hero in a white hat. He will help the media see to it.

[privateinvestor]

'The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.'

-Ronald Reagan



Obama huddles with leaders to avoid US default

July 21, 2011 1:13 AM ET.

By STEVEN R. HURST


WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama met separately at the White House with Democratic and Republican leaders, pressing again for a debt reduction deal — congressional agreement to a "grand bargain" that slashes spending and increases tax revenues while averting a catastrophic and unprecedented government default.

The resumption of White House talks Wednesday underlined the urgency of an agreement on raising the U.S. debt limit by Aug. 2. American obligations could go unpaid as the Treasury Department exhausts its ability to borrow money. The cap currently stands at $13.6 trillion. Past Congresses — regardless of which party was in control — routinely approved increased borrowing as a matter of course.

This time, however, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives is under the powerful sway of 87 new members elected with tea party backing. The newcomers are pledged to reducing the size of government and preventing tax increases, if not lowering assessments. So far House Republicans have refused to even consider proposals by Obama that would slice trillions of dollars from U.S. spending over the coming decade while bolstering revenue through an overhaul of the American tax code.

Obama has taken heart in recent days as the bipartisan Gang of Six senators, three from each party, have resurrected a deal that would slash almost $4 trillion from the deficit, including an immediate 10-year, $500 billion down payment as Congress sets caps on the agency budgets it passes each year. It also requires an additional $500 billion in cost curbs on federal health care programs, cuts to federal employee pensions, curbs in the growth of military health care and retirement costs and modest cuts to farm subsidies. It would also raise revenue by at least $1.2 trillion over a decade by eliminating part or all of many cherished income tax deductions while lowering tax rates across the board.

In a sign of the closing window for action, the White House said for the first time that Obama would accept a short-term extension of the debt limit, but only if a broader deal was already in place and required more time — perhaps a few days — to get through Congress. Obama had previously threatened to veto any stopgap measure.

"There is still time to do something significant if all parties are willing to compromise," Obama spokesman Jay Carney urged.

Realistically, Congress probably must come to terms with the White House on a deal this week, given the time needed to craft, debate, pass and work out possible differences in legislation.

The Obama administration and Congress are also working on a backup plan to increase the debt limit if no big plan can be reached. It would allow Obama to raise the ceiling on his own unless overridden by Congress. Yet many House Republicans loathe that idea and have pledged to vote against it, raising doubts about how tenable even the fallback choice is.

That plan is the result of work by the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate, Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell.

Obama is trying to seize on momentum from the Gang of Six proposal that came back into play on Tuesday.

Obama met for less than an hour with Reid; Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate and a member of the Gang of Six; House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House.

He met separately with House Speaker John Boehner and his deputy, Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

By keeping the parties apart, Obama underscored the need to get a bottom line from both his own party and the leaders of the Republican-run House.

His challenge with fellow Democrats is to persuade them to accept changes to the popular entitlement programs of Medicare and Social Security. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has said simply, "We do not support cuts in benefits for Social Security and Medicare."

With Republicans, Obama is slamming into opposition from conservatives who refuse to consider tax increases.

"We need to meet, talk, consult and narrow down in fairly short order what train we're riding into the station," Carney said ahead of the meetings.

money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20110721&id=13968906

[Driftr]

Jul 20, 2011 20:50:55 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

I say, call his bluff.
Shut it down.

It will not happen.
I hope the Tea Party members in Congress stand their ground. That is why they were elected.
The sooner the Democrats understand this the sooner we will solve this mess.

Amen. Even though it'd suck a little for me & mine during our trip to DC in a couple weeks, I can take them back there some other time if the Govt is shut down when we're there.

[privateinvestor]

Jul 21, 2011 8:58:51 GMT -5 Driftr said:

Jul 20, 2011 20:50:55 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

I say, call his bluff.
Shut it down.

It will not happen.
I hope the Tea Party members in Congress stand their ground. That is why they were elected.
The sooner the Democrats understand this the sooner we will solve this mess.

Amen. Even though it'd suck a little for me & mine during our trip to DC in a couple weeks, I can take them back there some other time if the Govt is shut down when we're there.

Yea ok but others in this country may not be as well off as you claim to be...or is that an issue for you???

I personally would NOT like to see our government shutdown or default on it's obligations to pay it's bills.....but then again I happen to believe in a Democratic Government and not a socialistic state which were are leaning toward unless a debt reduction bill is passed.. Why? Because I have two grand kids who deserve better than this financial mess being passed on them