On 6/2/2011 7:31 AM, John R. Carroll wrote:
Snag wrote:
Hawke wrote:
Last night the republicans defeated a "clean" bill to raise the debt
ceiling. Today the stock market took a 250 point drop. Last time the
republicans failed to act on a similar bill the market dropped 500
points before they changed their minds and passed the bill.


When is the GOP going to understand that when they refuse to raise
the debt ceiling it's going to send the economy into the dumpster?
They're playing a game but we're the ones who are going to lose.

Hawke

So what you seem to be sayin' is that the way to get our country out
of debt is to borrow more money ?
That seems to be a little backward to me ...

Yeah, but it works if you invest the borrowed money wisely in your future.
Bill Ford was running the Ford motor Company until 2006, when Ford hired
Alan Mulally, a former Boeing Co. senior executive, as CEO.
They then went to a consortium of banks to borrow money, literally "hocking
the farm", to restructure the company.
Every asset on Ford's books was used to collateralize their borrowing.
Plants, equipment, inventory, intellectual property - everything.
Ford survived the recession and auto industry downturn without the need for
government financing or the need to be "bailed out".
The company earned a profit of $6.6 billion in 2010, its best year since
1999, and it has steadily gained market share in the U.S.

America needs to do the exact same thing.

Not a bad idea. But that's not going to happen if the U.S. defaults on
it's obligations because it failed to raise the debt ceiling. It's a
matter of losing an arm or losing your life. It would be a financial
fiasco of giant proportions if America loses it's reputation for
financial stability. It wouldn't be that big a deal to extend the debt
ceiling one more time.

To me the choice is an easy one. You don't chance losing your shirt
because you're too foolish to borrow some more money. But the truth is
this is an example of the republicans trying to force their will on the
Democrats. The republicans are using the debt ceiling issue to force the
Democrats to cut entitlement programs from the budget. They would gladly
do that while they cut taxes even more for the wealthy.

So you don't give in to that kind of pressure. If the republicans want
to play "chicken" with our finances over cutting the budget, I say let
them. But don't be surprised when it ruins the economy. Last time the
republicans made our financial decisions look what happened. Want to let
them try it again? Not me.

Hawke